Xabi Alonso admitted Bayer Leverkusen “was not clinical enough and made too many mistakes” during their Champions League Last-16 defeat against Bayern Munich.
Leverkusen argued from the competition on Tuesday, after a loss of 2-0 at Bayarena had completed a 5-0 total defeat against their Bundesliga rivals.
Alonso thought that the damage was caused during the first stage of last week in the Allianz Arena, punished with his side for a sloppy defense view.
Those defensive weaknesses were again exposed in the return match, where Harry Kane and Alphonso Davies benefited to put the draw firmly outside the hosts.
“We didn't lose the round of 16 [tie] Today, but earlier in Munich, “Alonso told reporters at his press conference after the game.” We have lost [in] second half [of the first leg]. When we needed an adult performance, we were soft.
“In the end we were not 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 that Bayern was the stronger side over the draw, and the effort of Leverkusen “was not enough”.
“We have to say more than two games that Bayern was clearly better,” added the Leverkusen skipper. “We don't score a goal at all, we admitted five.
“The entire 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 now over. You always want more. There is certainly a big disappointment now – but we can only work on what we should do better. This time it wasn't enough.”
With us all the way
Thank you, #werkself Fans – We are back #ucl pic.twitter.com/RM26AYE8TS
– Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@Bayer04_en) 12 March 2025
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