Granit Xhaka faces a yellow card suspension in the league summit against Bayern Munich. Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso has to decide whether to take this risk. There is a lot to be said for abandoning the midfield strategist in Darmstadt. But this move would not be without its own merits.
Will he be spared for Bayern in Darmstadt? Granit Xhaka. IMAGO/Laci Perenyi
He is Leverkusen’s long-running favorite. Granit Xhaka was on the pitch for the league leaders for 2181 minutes across all competitions this season. Only Alejandro Grimaldo tops this figure at Bayer 04 with 2,222 minutes. This is also due to the fact that there is no equivalent replacement as a left-wing player for the Spaniard, who, unlike Sixer Xhaka, was not on permanent international duty.
On the other hand, the German national player Robert Andrich was always offered as an alternative to Xhaka. And yet Xabi Alonso was extremely reluctant to give up his midfield strategist. He started 19 times in the league and was only substituted late in three games when Bayer was clearly leading. Without the Spiritus Rector, the Basque doesn’t want to compete when something is at stake.
But on Saturday the Basque will have to ask himself whether he wants to take this risk. After all, Xhaka has four yellow cards on his account since the 0-0 draw against Gladbach last weekend. In the next one, the Swiss record international player will be suspended for one game. So if Xhaka is booked in Darmstadt, he will miss the league summit against Bayern Munich next week.
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Will Xabi Alonso do without Xhaka in Darmstadt?
Even if a professional as experienced as the 31-year-old might be clever enough to get away in Darmstadt without a warning, there is much to suggest that Xabi Alonso would rather miss him on Saturday voluntarily than perhaps out of force against Bayern. After all, the Basque thinks differently when it comes to such questions and, for example, put Jonathan Tah on the bench at the restart in Augsburg (1-0) so that the defense chief could not get a yellow card for the subsequent game in Leipzig (3-2). .
However, Xabi Alonso would then have to make do without his entire regular double six in Darmstadt. Finally, Argentine world champion Exequiel Palacios is still out injured. But that shouldn’t necessarily stop Xabi Alonso from making such a move. Best example: Leverkusen’s coach also decided to take Tah’s break in Augsburg, even though the other two regular central defenders, Odilon Kossounou and Edmond Tapsoba, were absent because of the Africa Cup.
So will Bayer play in Darmstadt without Xhaka? This would be the Spaniard’s fourth strike in five games. In the annual final against Bochum (4-0) he gave up all five potential African Cup drivers in order to let their representatives get in touch. And against Gladbach (0-0), he gave substitute and cup keeper Matej Kovar 90 minutes of match practice with his Bundesliga debut so that he doesn’t have to make a cold start in the cup quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Celebrated a surprising Bundesliga debut against Gladbach: Matej Kovar. IMAGO/Eibner
A measure that surprised almost everyone internally. And by the way: Against Gladbach, Xabi Alonso wasn’t bothered in the slightest by the fact that he was already missing five (!) regular players. In Darmstadt, the personnel situation is also likely to be more relaxed. In addition to Tah, who was suspended against Gladbach, the two returnees from the Africa Cup, Tapsoba and attacker Amine Adli, are also available again.
However, Xabi Alonso’s alternative double six would be somewhat weakened by Nadiem Amiri’s move to Mainz – at least in terms of Bundesliga experience. In addition to Andrich, the young Colombian Gustavo Puerta (20) would make his starting eleven debut in the Bundesliga, in which he has played a whopping 26 minutes so far.
But since Puerta already knew how to do well in two starting eleven appearances in the Europa League, acting calmly and very reliably, Bayer would still have a duo with whom they can basically survive.
But that doesn’t change the fact that Xabi Alonso would prefer to let his thinker and driver Xhaka play. But since the Spaniard doesn’t just like to lose control during the 90 minutes, it would be no surprise if Bayer played in Darmstadt without their key player.
2024-02-01 22:32:28
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