Xabi Alonso insists that Bayer Leverkusen Bayern Munich can still hold “on their toes” in the Bundesliga after their dramatic 4-3 victory over Stuttgart on Sunday.
Leverkusen had lost their last three games in all competitions and stood 3-2 in the back of the 88th minute before Angelo Stiller's goal parity recovered.
Patrik Schick then scored a 94th minute winner, where Leverkusen saw the gap above the Bundesliga close to six points after Bayern was held to a 1-1 draw from Union Berlin on Saturday.
The side of Xabi Alonso has won 12 points this season of losing positions in the Bundesliga, more than any other team.
The victory also ensured that the impressive path of Leverkusen was continued – they are now unbeaten in each of their last 30 Bundesliga games (W22 D8).
Leverkusen still gets only a 4.7% chance to maintain their Bundesliga -Kroon by the OPTA Supercomputer, with Bayern the overwhelming favorites at 95.3%.
It was a necessary result after their exit from Champions League – in Bayern's hands – and Alonso believes that his party has shown that they can push the title race to the thread.
“We want to put so much pressure on it [Bayern] Possibly, “said Alonso.
“We know that there are eight games in the Bundesliga. Our goal is to give everything in every Bundesliga game. Moreover, we have the semi-final of DFB-Pokal.
“A lot can happen. It is not in our hands, but it is our job to win game after the game. We will do our thing and see what Bayern Munich will do.
“We just want to keep them on their toes until the end.”
Leverkusen had not found the back of the net during their losing run of three games, with a 2-0 defeat against Werder Bremen in their last Bundesliga outing, while they were beaten from the Champions League because of a 5-0 aggregated defeat by Vincent Kompany's side.
They had 38 shots without success in that period, but Alonso received the reaction he needed at Mhparena before the international break.
“We could show that we can come back from a shortage,” he added.
“After the 3-2 we started to believe that we could get back into the game. Then, after the third goal, we wanted to fight for the victory. It was important for everyone, especially the players, after three defeats in a row.
“To have that great feeling after those ten days again – that was important to all of us.”
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