Kaiserslautern – Bayer Leverkusen: Alonso Acquires Another Accolade (0-1)
Bayer Leverkusen lost grip of their goal in Europe but the stranglehold in Germany is firmly theirs. A red card could have ruined their rigorous work in the first half of this final, but the response from their unfancied opponents was too meek to spoil the script on this occasion.
Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.
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The Europa League ought to have been the second stage of a three pronged trophy haul. Yet, Bayer Leverkusen let down the guard to the divinities. Immortality incinerated an image of invincibility as Atalanta asserted authority on the field in a 3-0 win. The terrific treble is no more. But the moment for misery is not now. A bulletproof record remains in Germany. The club would be the fifth in the nation to wrap up a domestic double with one more victory— and the only one with no loss to their name.
In their way was an outfit that had been yearning for the fulfillment of former glories. Kaiserslautern conquered the Bundesliga back in the 1990s twice, but have not been in the first division since 2012. Their second season back in the Zweite Bundesliga ended with a ninth placed finish of little fanfare, so the sensation for their supporters has sprung from their DFB Pokal journey. However, it has been with a major caveat: Köln have been their only opponent on their route to the final from the top tier.
The underdogs won three of their last four league outings to climb clear of the drop zone. Friedhelm Funkel, their manager, rotated three members of the lineup from their last match. Jan Elvedi and Ben Zolinski stepped in on the right of a rearguard that Tymoteusz Puchacz and Boris Tomiak completed. Jean Zimmer reinforced the right wing. Filip Kaloč, Tobias Raschl, and Marlon Ritter operated in the midfield. Kenny Redondo stayed on the left of the midfield, and Daniel Hanslik started as the striker.
Xabi Alonso allowed seven of eleven men from the final to try and take this trophy. Piero Hincapié lost his spot, so Edmond Tapsoba moved to the left of the back three, while Odilon Kossounou sat on the right of Jonathan Tah. Jeremie Frimpong filled his usual role as a right wing-back. Exequiel Palacios pulled out of the pivot; Robert Andrich added steel in the middle of the park with Granit Xhaka. Florian Wirtz would feature with Jonas Hofmann and Patrik Schick in the final third.
Alonso assails the opposition
What has been astounding about Leverkusen under Alonso has been the intensity at which the players can play to pull apart their opponents until the final whistle. The opening goal was not long in the waiting. Schick struggled to hold up a vertical pass from Tapsoba, and Wirtz’s wiry frame foraged for the second ball. Eventually, the possession would drop loose for Xhaka from more than twenty five yards. The midfielder wound up his left boot to whip a strike into the roof of the net from long range.
The winning goal by Granit Xhaka on repeat 🔁#GermanFootball #DFB #GermanCUP #DFBPokal #Berlin pic.twitter.com/Aj2hmid5WK
— germanfootball_dfb (@DFB_Team_EN) May 25, 2024
Leverkusen laid out their offense with no nasty surprises. Kossounou pushed out on the right of their base of three. This platform tilted with the dropping of the double pivot into the first line. Xhaka and Andrich took turns in these positions, racking up plenty of passes within a compact buildup structure.
Hofmann helped to tick over in enemy territory. But the outstanding figure in the construct was Wirtz. His high demand for the ball pushed him to the outside or near the sixes, darting dynamically to be free from Zolinski. While Kaiserslautern wanted to disturb his zone of influence, sequences sparked into life once he was able to link black shirts between the lines or bring the ball forward with his feet.
19th minute: offensive sequence from Bayer Leverkusen. Tapsoba had faked a pass into the feet of Wirtz, whose inward movement attracted Zolinski and Kaloč. Andrich sits on the inside shoulder of Ritter and could bounce the ball back to the defender immediately. Raschl jumps with the return pass, and follows Tapsoba’s open body posture. Wirtz remains available as an option inside the formation and the ball circulation continues through Andrich to release Schick on the edge of the penalty area.
The wing-backs brought extra dynamism in the final third. Grimaldo started deeper on the left and Zimmer offered extra cover on that side of the field. However, the element of surprise saw the summer signing slip in behind the defense off the ball more than once. Frimpong was a known quantity in a high and wide role from the right. His predictable but powerful running on the outside engineered breakthroughs for crosses. The wheels kept turning as Leverkusen commanded the clash.
Leverkusen lift the trophy
Cruise control contained Kaiserslautern till the break, as the rearguard only encountered a few efforts. However, the dynamics had shifted at this stage of the game. Having stretched to stay in control of the ball, Kossounou caught the heel of Tomiak on the halfway line. The referee brandished a second yellow card to the defender, reducing the favorites to ten men. Now, the direction to dominance was not nearly as clear. Alonso adjusted before the start of the second half in reaction to this obstacle.
He took off two players. Schick made way for Amine Adli as the central forward. Leverkusen lined up in a 4-4-1 block, and Josip Stanišić sat on the right of the back four, so Hofmann’s evening on the field had also finished prematurely. Ragnar Ache also replaced Hanslik as the central forward for Kaiserslautern. The substitute struck several times at the goal, but potshots paled into insignificance.
Leverkusen still leveraged a share of the ball. The double pivot stayed close to the central defenders, Frimpong and Adli fixed the attention of the last line, and Wirtz roamed between the lines. In the absence of Hofmann, he now moved more frequently to the right of the pitch to offer connectivity. But Alonso’s men spent more time in a lower block. More transitions would offer a trident of agile carriers to try and pick off their opponents in larger spaces. Twice, Frimpong flew forward on the right, looking for black shirts in the box from cutbacks, but he could not connect for a conversion.
79th minute: offensive sequence from Bayer Leverkusen. Ball circulation draws out the midfield, and Xhaka fires a line breaking pass into the path of Adli. Adli recognizes that Redondo is on his outside shoulder and allows the ball to run across his body rather than taking a touch. Once he twists into an open body position, he can feed a layoff pass to Wirtz. A subsequent run forces Elvedi and Puchacz to cover inside, opening a wide passing lane for Frimpong. Adli attacks the far post and Wirtz became available for a cutback in front of the defense, but Frimpong did not search for the free teammate.
Alonso saw out the success with fresh legs. Hincapié handled the left of defense in place of Grimaldo. Nathan Tella took the place of Frimpong, and Adam Hložek swapped in for Wirtz. Kaiserslautern had kept the advantage down to a singular strike but never truly threatened to turn around the scoreline.
Takeaways
Kaiserslautern might have mixed feelings after the final whistle. On the one hand, the odds of beating Bayer Leverkusen were next to none, especially as a club hailing from the second tier. On the other hand, a man advantage for more than half of the contest could have caused greater trouble for their opponents. Funkel felt that an adventurous approach would have been too naive to carry out in the circumstances, but the fight to the final has fueled a fire that ought to elicit pride from their fans.
Bayer Leverkusen brought the house down on a sensational season, doing the double in Germany. Though the ultimate feat might have been out of reach, the club bowed out of this campaign on the high note that the year deserved. Alonso aligned his summer signings with a consistent and creative game model in possession, putting his trust in his players to battle and bring these ideas to life. That fighting spirit has held onto a historic streak— their prized possession to preserve from August.
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