"The end of metaphysics is the pharmaceutical factory." This theorem has come into effect more than once this season. Whether it is the German Bundesliga match against Stuttgart, Dortmund, or the Europa League match against Karabakh and Rome, Alonso's Leverkusen will never lose this season. However, after the 0-3 defeat to Atlanta in the European Union final, the record of 51 unbeaten games in various competitions of the pharmaceutical factory was gone, and the eternal miracle of winning the treble without defeat in the whole season also became a thing of the past.
Looking at the Europa League final, if the fans did not pay any attention to the previous games of Leverkusen, they might be surprised that this team had been unbeaten for 51 games and had repeatedly survived at the last minute. In the whole game, it was not too much to say that the pharmaceutical factory was completely defeated in all directions. In the first half, Lukman first caught Palacios' man marking and scored a goal, and then quickly expanded the score by taking advantage of the pharmaceutical factory's lax defense. Except for two goals, Atlanta took the initiative most of the time, and Lewakusen could hardly play any effective offensive due to the continuous high-pressure pressing.
For Bayer Leverkusen fans, this season has seen several times that the absent-minded pharmaceutical factory in the first half was first broken by the opponent, but it can always find its way back to complete the counter attack. Alonso's pharmaceutical factory was particularly annoying in the second half, especially at the last moment of the game. However, after the final entered the second half, the pharmaceutical factory did not continue the previous situation. Grimaldo and Frimpong, whose wings were full of offensive data this season, were completely locked by Atlanta. The midfield led by Edson stopped Leverkusen's attack in the middle again and again. As Lukman scored a hat trick in the counter attack, the game was actually over. The pharmaceutical factory only created some opportunities in the final stage when the situation was gone, but it could not even break the egg after all.
The German Bundesliga's success in winning the championship without defeat and the overall popularity of the third tier gave Alonso enough confidence. At the conference before the Europa League final, he said: "Our team is very excellent. The players are ready for the final battle. They have proved that they were born for such a moment throughout the season. We are strong enough to raise our head and say, 'Yes, we can do it!' "
However, at the beginning of the game, Leverkusen's players did not seem to adapt to the intensity of the final. At the beginning, they were stunned by Atlanta's three board axe and active confrontation. Lukman's first goal came from Palacios' lack of tight marking. The second goal was that the back court of the pharmaceutical factory was half a beat slow, which made Lukman easily surpass others and start to score. Although he had survived several times this season, the pharmaceutical factory did not show the tenacity of an unbeaten team. Instead, the whole court was muddled and the opponent held down his lifeline. Alonso, as the coach, was responsible for this.
Atlanta just lost to Juventus in the Italian Cup final last weekend. Gasperini led the team to the Cup final four times, and the teacher moved - all lost. Compared with Alonso, the "son of heaven", Gasperini and his Atlanta were certainly not optimistic before the game, but the result was unexpected. From full preparation before the game to several timely adjustments during the game, Gasperini can be said to have completely grasped Alonso this game, and also let the "Dragon Saint" fall into the mortal world completely this night.
The Spanish media, who have been singing praises of Alonso all the time this season, were not polite after this amazing final. The Spanish newspaper Le Monde wrote: "Alonso's Leverkusen knelt down tonight in front of the great performance of Atlanta." The article also pointed out: "This is the first time Alonso has led the team to the final. His formation is as imaginative as many games before this season, and even his imagination may be too much, so that he did a lot of wrong things. He let Boniface and Hick sit on the bench and use Adeli to play the center position, but the Moroccan is not such a material. He also put the undisputed Bundesliga champion midfielder Andriy on the bench. Alonso's decisions and Atlanta's extraordinary performance made Leverkusen suffer his first defeat of the season, or a disastrous defeat. "
As the newspaper said, Alonso's starting lineup was really a little big. In addition to the two mistakes in the formation of the platoon mentioned in the article, his choice of taking Stanichic as the right wing guard and Frimpong as the right forward is also questionable. Frimpong, who has performed well throughout the season, is difficult to show the advantages in speed and propulsion ability in the final match, On the contrary, it exposed the disadvantage of not handling the ball carefully enough, and repeatedly fell into a tangle with the opponent.
In the second round of the previous Europa League semi-final, Alonso also used Adley as the center for the first time. As a result, the pharmacy was once equalled by Rome. Fortunately, at the last moment, the chaos was solved so that the team could survive and reach the final. But in the final match of bayonet fight, Alonso finally paid the price for his "whole life". As the coach, he led the team to the first final, which ended in a complete defeat.
After leading Leverkusen to win the Bundesliga championship historically, the Bayer Arena, the main venue of the pharmaceutical factory, played the highly popular song Viva Espana in Spain to pay tribute to Alonso's feat. Even if he lost the Europa League final, the fact that Leverkusen has experienced a great season cannot be concealed. If Kaiserslautern, the German second division relegation team, wins the domestic double crown in the German Cup final on the weekend, Alonso and his team will still be able to clear the haze of defeat in the European Union final and enjoy the joy of this epic season. And who can say that the lessons behind this fiasco will not become a stepping stone for Alonso to truly become a famous coach in the future?
Wu Haoyu, Special Correspondent of Titan Sports Weekly
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