Granit Xhaka opened his goal account in Leverkusen after 22 goalless matches. Leverkusen leads the series with a difference of eleven points to Bayern München, who have played a match less.
Bayer Leverkusen defeated relegation-fighting Mainz 2–1 on Friday in the soccer Bundesliga. Finnish goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky At the same time, skipper Leverkusen extended its streak of undefeated matches that lasted the whole season to 33. This is a new Bundesliga record.
At the same time, a midfield stalwart acquired from Arsenal for the team this season Granit Xhaka opened his goal account in his new club. Xhaka scored a 1–0 lead goal with a spiral shot from outside the penalty area in the third minute of the match.
After that, Xhaka pissed off a couple of his team’s physiotherapists with his peculiar ventilation. The 31-year-old started to limp in the back leg, which confused those on the sidelines. The head coach of the team Xabi Alonso realized the situation and calmed down the physiotherapist who was rushing onto the field.
– I already did that in training. It was a little joke by Jeremie Frimpong with. I was waiting for that ventilation for weeks, Xhaka described his prank.
Xhaka managed to play 22 matches in Leverkusen without a goal. He had scored the last time in the German premier league in 2015 when he played for Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Criticism and praise
Despite the victory, head coach Alonso found something to criticize about Leverkusen’s actions. of Mainz Dominik Kohr managed to level the game at the end of a free kick pattern five minutes after Xhaka’s goal, and Leverkusen’s game was tentative at times.
– The game was really demanding for us. Mainz started very energetically. After the opening goal, we wanted to calm down the game, but we couldn’t. The game got a little crazy, which we don’t want, Alonso said at the press conference.
– The second half was not particularly good, but we dominated and waited for our moment. Even after the lead goal, the game was tight, and we couldn’t relax. It feels good to get three points, even though we didn’t play at our best.
Robert Andrich struck the final score with a lucky long-range shot that went past the Mainz goalkeeper by Robin Zentner through the hands in the 68th minute.
Mainz’s job became more difficult ten minutes before the final whistle, when Jessica Ngankam took a straight red.
Alonso said he was proud of his team’s historic streak of 33 unbeaten matches.
– I can’t get enough of congratulating my players, because of their work ethic and commitment every week… they are so easy and pleasant to work with . I really learned a lot from every practice and game.
– It’s great that we have now reached that milestone. You won’t get any medals for it, but that’s okay. It is nice to use this process together. We started in July with this group. Let’s see how far we can go. We are certainly achieving great things, but we don’t want to stop.
Leverkusen leads the series with a difference of eleven points to Bayern München, who have played a match less. See the Bundesliga table at this link.