The small happy ending after a great attrition caused optimism at Bayer Leverkusen. “The ticket for a semi-final is not available for free,” said coach Xabi Alonso after the 1-1 draw in the Europa League quarter-final first leg against Union Saint-Gilloise: “But we still have every chance. My head wants more. We have this big wish for the second leg. And we remain optimistic.”
The Belgian outsider, who knocked out Union Berlin, third in the Bundesliga, in the round of 16, underlined his reputation as an uncomfortable, disgusting and difficult opponent in Leverkusen on Thursday. After national player Florian Wirtz (82′) saved the draw after falling behind through Victor Boniface (51′), Alonso was able to look at the whole thing positively: “It was good preparation for next week.”
“It’s going to be like a finale. Make or break.”
Of course, Alonso had to admit that the starting position has not improved. “Yesterday the chances were 50:50. Now we drew and they have the second game at home. So they might have a small advantage,” said the two-time Champions League winner as a player and was probably thinking of the Berliners lost 3-0 after a 3-3 draw at home in Belgium. “But there are still at least 90 minutes to play,” said Alonso: “It’s going to be like a final, make or break, and we’re ready for it.”
Goal scorer Wirtz saw it similarly. “We would have wished for a better starting position,” said the 19-year-old: “But I’m sure we’ll win in the second leg. We have a really great team. Everyone wants to do it. And we’ll reward ourselves with quality and fighting spirit .”
“We all want more.”
The fact is: After the sometimes miserable first half of the season, the atmosphere around the club is more euphoric than it has been for years. Several thousand fans had welcomed the team bus two hours before the game. It was only with difficulty that he could make his way through the fans, shrouded in a cloud of fog from numerous pyros. Club boss Fernando Carro found the whole atmosphere around the game “sensational. We all want more. Team, coach, fans.”
For Bayer, which is the last Bundesliga club in the Europa League and after FC Bayern’s 3-0 defeat in the Champions League at Manchester City, probably the last realistic German title hope in the European Cup, it would be the fourth European semi-final after 1988, 1995 and 2002. Twice Leverkusen then reached the final, and in 1988 they also won the trophy in the UEFA Cup. The last title ever for Bayer was an unbelievable 30 years ago: In 1993, Leverkusen won the DFB Cup.
