Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso acknowledged the bitter disappointment of their Europa League last defeat to Atalanta however emphasised the significance of utilizing this setback as motivation for his or her upcoming German Cup last.
Leverkusen, nicknamed “Neverlusen” for breaking Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga title monopoly, suffered a 3-0 loss, ending their outstanding 51-match unbeaten streak.
Despite the defeat, Leverkusen nonetheless have an opportunity to clinch a home double by defeating Kaiserslautern in Saturday’s German Cup last, a feat that will have been a outstanding achievement in an in any other case stellar season.
“The normality is not to get defeated in the 52nd game. Normally, it happens much earlier in the season. It’s been quite exceptional what we have achieved, and we have to be really proud, probably in some time but for sure today it’s painful,” Alonso informed a news convention.
“We will learn, I will learn because these defeats in the final, you don’t forget them.”
Long derided as “Neverkusen” for his or her failure to win a serious title for many years, Leverkusen had gained solely two main trophies of their 119-year historical past earlier than this season.
So whereas Wednesday’s last might have delivered a second European title following the 1988 UEFA Cup success, a second-ever German Cup is nothing to be sniffed at.
“It will be a test how we deal with it because we have another big thing on Saturday,” the previous Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich midfielder mentioned.
“It’s going to be a challenge for us how we come back from today’s defeat and how we deal with the pain. Let’s try and have a big influence on our mindset for Saturday.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com