All eyes will be on Liverpool’s match with Burnley on Saturday afternoon. But do yourself a favor and switch to the Bundesliga later. It goes without saying that you’ll want this feature running in the background when getting all your post-match content from Liverpool.com. But when we consider their potential title implications, at least half of the eye-catching fixtures now have a very special meaning for Liverpool fans.
Xabi Alonso and his Bayer Leverkusen team take on Bayern Munich. Alonso is, of course, recognized as Jurgen Klopp’s successor. One game won’t determine if that assessment is correct, but it will be interesting to see how he continues to perform in some of the toughest games in German football history.
In the second leg played at the Allianz Arena, Alonso’s side conceded a goal in the 86th minute of the first half and were awarded a penalty kick in the 94th minute of the second half, it ended in a 2–2 draw. If they avoid defeat at home, Liverpool’s next manager will take a giant step towards the incredible prospect of an unbeaten season.
It’s something not even Bayern Munich have ever achieved in the Bundesliga. Of course, “Invincible” will raise the alarm among some Liverpool fans. Because another famous former midfielder achieved the feat early in his managerial career. Steven Gerrard is currently in Saudi Arabia and is not doing too well there.
But even the superstitious can see that what Alonso has achieved and will achieve bears little real resemblance to Gerrard’s reign at Rangers. To put this into context, only seven of Europe’s top five leagues have finished the season unbeaten, and three of those occurred before the Second World War. Gerrard’s achievements in Scotland were still very impressive. Especially since the new competition structure meant facing Celtic, champions for the fourth year in a row.
However, given the huge financial gap, Rangers effectively went into every remaining game as overwhelming favourites, increasing the chances of a perfect campaign resembling a statistical ideal.
Watch a match against Bayern Munich and you will see why Alonso is more than player of the month. His success at Bayer Leverkusen is the culmination of a great career so far, which has led to his outstanding form at Real Sociedad B. That doesn’t necessarily mean Alonso will get the result he wants this weekend. Thomas Tuchel may not be able to make a splash at Bayern, but he got them through the Champions League group stage and is heavily linked with the Bundesliga.
A lose would drop Bayer Leverkusen into second place, and even a one-point deficit seems like a long way to go against such a winning machine.