Bayer 04 Leverkusen are taking the belief gained from finishing in the top eight of the UEFA Champions League standings into the latter stages of their Bundesliga title defense.
Xabi Alonso’s men, who sit six points behind leaders Bayern Munich in second place, host TSG 1899 Hoffenheim this weekend fresh from securing direct passage to the Champions League last 16 by beating Sparta Prague on Wednesday.
“That’s why we play in the Champions League — to compete at the highest level,” Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah said. “We have shown that we can compete with anyone at this level.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Leverkusen have only lost one domestic match since the start of last season in a remarkable run.
After a sluggish start to the Bundesliga campaign, Leverkusen have powered back into contention despite last weekend’s draw with RB Leipzig, when they let a two-goal lead slip.
Bayern, who face Holstein Kiel today, visit Leverkusen between their two Champions League playoff legs after missing out on a top-eight finish in Europe.
The Bavarians have not won at Leverkusen since 2021 and Alonso is yet to suffer a defeat by Bayern since taking charge, but Tah does not expect Bayern’s packed schedule to give his team any edge in the battle for the Bundesliga.
“Bayern Munich are used to playing every three days,” he said.
Leverkusen were also boosted by the news Victor Boniface’s planned move to Saudi Arabia has fallen through, giving the defending champions extra attacking power to keep fighting on three fronts.
Bayern have not yet added any senior players to their squad in the transfer market, which closes on Monday, but coach Vincent Kompany is not overly worried about having to face a Champions League playoff.
“We have to rebuild our momentum,” Kompany said after his side’s win — their seventh in eight games in all competitions — over Slovan Bratislava was not enough to sneak into the top eight. “It was clear the big games would come... From now on, everything is in our hands again.”
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund travel to Heidenheim today for interim head coach Mike Tullberg’s last game in charge before former Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt and AS Monaco head coach Niko Kovac takes over.
Despite sitting in 11th place with just one win in their past eight league games, Dortmund are still within striking distance of the top four. They are six points behind fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart.
Despite Paris Saint-Germain ending their Champions League hopes on Wednesday, Stuttgart still had something to celebrate, with Germany midfielder Angelo Stiller extending his contract with the club by a year until 2028.
“[He is] an important building block in the team’s structure,” Stuttgart sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth said of Stiller.
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