Xabi Alonso admits Bayer Leverkusen deserved to be eliminated as he rues missed chances
Xabi Alonso conceded Bayer Leverkusen “weren’t clinical enough and made too many mistakes” during their Champions League last-16 defeat to Bayern Munich.
Leverkusen bowed out of the competition on Tuesday, after a 2-0 loss at BayArena completed a 5-0 aggregate defeat to their Bundesliga rivals.
Alonso felt the damage was done during last week’s first leg at the Allianz Arena, with his side punished for a sloppy defensive display.
Those defensive frailties were exposed again in the return fixture, with Harry Kane and Alphonso Davies profiting to put the tie firmly beyond the hosts.
“We didn’t lose the round of 16 [tie]today, but rather in Munich,” Alonso told reporters at his post-match press conference. “We lost [in]the second half [of the first leg]. When we needed a mature performance, we were soft.
“In the end, we weren’t clinical enough and we made too many mistakes.
“[In the second leg], we went full throttle in the first half. We needed the first goal, but that didn’t happen. We tried everything in a not so easy situation, with many injured players. But the season is not over yet.”
Lukas Hradecky acknowledged Bayern were the stronger side across the tie, and the effort from Leverkusen “wasn’t enough”.
“Over two games, we have to say Bayern were clearly better,” the Leverkusen skipper added. “We didn’t score a goal at all, we conceded five.
“The whole stadium was with us, and we believed from the first minute that we could create a miracle,” he said. “I thought the first half was really good; we tried everything, but couldn’t break through.
“This adventure is over now. You always want more. There is certainly a big disappointment now – but we can only work on what we have to do better. This time, it wasn’t enough.”
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