Leverkusen is "flying" in the Bundesliga with Xabi Alonso

Xabi Alonso has transformed Bayer Leverkusen from relegation contenders to unbeaten Bundesliga leaders in just over a year since taking charge of the team. Alonso's side won 22 of their 35 Bundesliga games in 2023 - a club record in a calendar year. Widely regarded as a classy midfielder for Real Madrid, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Sociedad, Alonso was not tested as a manager at a big club until Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes entrusted him with the squad in October last year. Leverkusen were bottom of the Bundesliga with just five points from their first eight games, but were knocked out in the first round of the German Cup and struggled in the Champions League. After starting with a 4-0 defeat to Schalke, Alonso had to wait for his ideas to be implemented as the team failed to win any of the next six games. But then came the 5-0 win over then-leaders Union Berlin in November 2022. It was the result Alonso needed to restore confidence in himself and his team. They have grown stronger in the meantime. On Wednesday, Leverkusen stayed four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with a 4-0 win over Bochum, while also setting a German record for the longest unbeaten run since the start of the season. Leverkusen have not lost any of their 25 matches in all competitions this season. He has won all but three matches.

"We wanted to play a good half of the season, but of course, even the biggest optimists would not have thought we would do this well," Alonso said on Thursday. "We are in this situation, we will enjoy ourselves, but we want to continue. We don't want to stop."

Leverkusen is playing the most attractive football in the league. Speedy full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo launch attacks from the flanks, Granit Xhaka brings his experience to the center and Florian Wirtz brings his magic up front. The 20-year-old Wirtz has scored eight goals and assisted 12 others in all competitions this season. But Alonso has other alternatives in his team. Against Bochum on Wednesday, he opted to start Czech Patrik Schick instead of Victor Boniface for the first time in the Bundesliga this season. The Czech striker responded with a hat-trick in the first half. Boniface had to wait to come on as a substitute before scoring his 10th league goal of the season. Only Bayern have more goals than Leverkusen, helped by striker Harry Kane's 21 goals in 15 league appearances. It's no coincidence that Leverkusen have the best defense - the opposition are too busy trying to stop his attack. He also has Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba and Odilon Kossounou guarding goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky.

"We know if we don't play that well, if we don't play with this personality and confidence, we can have problems," Alonso said. "Now we have some time to recover and then start again."

Alonso is likely to be without five players when the league resumes on January 13, with Leverkusen away to Augsburg. The Arfika Cup starts on the same day and Boniface (Nigeria), Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Kossounou (Côte d'Ivoire), Nathan Tella (Nigeria) and Amine Adli (Morocco) are expected to be called up to play in the tournament which will held in Ivory Coast. Alonso's formation against Bochum hinted at how he will play without the African players and showed the team he can cope.

"We have always said that we believe in the quality of the players even if some will not be because of the African Cup. We have a very, very good team,” Rolfes said.

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Leverkusen can claim the unofficial title of "autumn champion" for leading at the halfway stage. Bayern is four points behind after having played one game less.

"Leverkusen is in exceptional form, has a lot of points, deserves all of them," admitted Bayern's coach, Thomas Tuchel.