Even a man of the world and all-winner like Xabi Alonso was carried away and deeply moved after Leverkusen’s Europa League thriller. “That was a special night, a very special game,” said the former world and European champion and two-time Champions League winner: “Those were incredible emotions. It was great to experience that. And I hope that at some point in the future we remember this night because it means something important.”
As in the first leg, Bayer Leverkusen and coach Alonso were down 2-0 in the second leg of the round of 16 against Karabakh Agdam from Azerbaijan. Two goals from Patrik Schick in stoppage time (90+3 and 90+7) ensured the 3-2 win, advancement and perhaps the loudest celebration the Leverkusen Arena has ever heard. “I’m not often speechless, but today I’m really at a loss for words,” said Granit Xhaka shortly after the game.
And even if this is hardly necessary for a team that has not lost 37 competitive games since the start of the season, Thursday evening’s experience could release additional strength for the final spurt of the season and the fight for three titles. “We have to use this energy for what’s to come,” said Alonso and added from experience: “We have a great situation right now. But a team that wants to be successful has to be ready in April.”
Xhaka: “Many people hope that we will lose”
But turning around this game that was thought to be lost can also mean an initial spark for the experienced leader Xhaka. “We have to be aware that this victory can give us a lot,” said the 31-year-old, as he finally seemed to find words for what he had experienced: “This victory is more than three points, more than advancing. Many people hope that we will lose. But we just keep pushing.”
The sovereign Bundesliga table leader and highly favored cup semi-finalist has now scored an incredible eleven goals in the 90th minute or after, three alone now for Schick in the 2-2 draw in the first leg and on Thursday against the surprisingly strong Agdam. This is no coincidence, as Xhaka assures. “There are people who talk about happiness. But if you’ve already done it eight or nine times, it’s not luck,” said the Swiss: “We believe in ourselves until the end and show a mentality that is unbelievable.” National player Robert Andrich explained: “You’re never allowed to do that Losing confidence in your own strength. You can’t learn that. But the composition of this team makes it possible.”
Coach Alonso, who always played in the biggest teams during his time as a professional, also recognized this. “This team spirit is perhaps the most important thing,” he said: “You can’t train the players’ faith.” His team even surprised him, because the coach had no idea that the score would be 3-2 in regular time believed. “I was ready for the speech before extra time,” he said, “but then I saw in their eyes that they wanted more.”
Given the strenuous weeks ahead, they definitely wanted to avoid the 30 minutes of extra time, emphasized Xhaka: “After the 2-2 draw, we definitely wanted to do one more thing before extra time. People have to work tomorrow, and so do we. That’s why everyone should go to bed early and not be in the stadium so late.” Andrich added: “After the 2-2 we said to ourselves: Let’s keep it up, keep pushing forward so as not to have to go into extra time. I’m pretty sure we would have pulled it even then. But that saved us 30 minutes and we were able to cheer with everyone earlier. That was just an awesome moment.”
Andrich doesn’t always want this thrill. The 29-year-old said that the game was “definitely in the top three” of the games he had experienced: “But I don’t need to pull it so often in stoppage time. And many viewers don’t need that either, their hearts have stopped a few times today. Of course, such victories are great, but I’d rather take a 3-0.”
But it is also experiences and evenings like this that give a team the feeling that they can achieve great things. So Xhaka almost didn’t care which opponents came in the quarter or semi-finals. “There are big teams there,” he said. “The Europa League has now become almost like the Champions League. Liverpool, Milan, they are brutal opponents. But we know what we can do. And if we carry on like this, we can annoy the big players too.”
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After SC Freiburg’s elimination, the Werkself are the only remaining German representatives in the competition, and attractive opponents await at the quarter-final draw in Nyon on Friday (1 p.m./Sky).
