´We have to keep going´ – Leverkusen shift focus to Bundesliga title race

Xavi Alonso says Bayer Leverkusen indispensable bounce backmost from their astonishment DFB-Pokal decision and absorption connected challenging for silverware successful the Bundesliga.

Leverkusen, who won the DFB-Pokal past season, were beaten 2-1 by third-tier Arminia Bielefeld successful the semi-finals connected Tuesday, losing their archetypal lucifer successful the contention since Alonso took over.

Having besides been knocked retired of the Champions League past period by Bayern Munich, the reigning champions are not turning their attraction to the rubric race, wherever they beryllium six points down Vincent Kompany’s side.

That gap, however, could unfastened up to 9 points up of Leverkusen’s lucifer against Heidenheim connected Saturday, with Bayern facing Augsburg connected Friday.

Leverkusen person won each 3 of their Bundesliga meetings against Heidenheim truthful far, scoring 11 goals. Alonso’s broadside are besides unbeaten successful their past 30 distant games successful the German top-flight (W22 D8), the second-longest tally successful league past (33 by Bayern).

“Now we tin truly absorption lone connected the Bundesliga due to the fact that the concern is simply a antithetic one,” Alonso told a property conference.

“But aft the DFB-Pokal defeat, we person to support going. We person 7 matches successful the league near to play, and we person to triumph them.”

Against Bielefeld, Leverkusen managed 13 shots worthy 1.05 expected goals (xG), with 4 of those attempts connected target, portion they besides deed the woodwork.

However, they gave up 4 ‘big’ chances astatine the different end, portion Bielefeld generated 1.43 xG from lone 8 attempts.

In the Bundesliga, Leverkusen are fixed conscionable a 4.1% accidental of retaining their rubric by the Opta supercomputer, with Bayern’s chances sitting astatine 95.9%.

Alonso emphasised the value of getting backmost to winning ways connected Saturday arsenic determination was nary country for dropped points astatine this signifier of the season.

“Now it is lone astir the Bundesliga. We are successful an absorbing presumption for thing to happen, truthful we volition see,” Alonso said, adding helium had been talking to his players successful the past days to rapidly flooded the DFB-Pokal setback.

“The champion happening is to talk, to stock our emotions. It was an important extremity for america to spell to Berlin [for the DFB-Pokal final], but sometimes you person to judge that athletics is similar that.

“We had large expectations to beryllium successful Berlin, but present is the moment… to amusement a bully absorption and a bully spirit. That’s what we privation [on Saturday].”