Supine Press Release
After the defeat, Leverkusen's players were depressed.
In the 51 games before the season, 42 wins and 9 draws swept across the eight famine and six matches. The penultimate game of the season was 0-3.
It was because of the defeat in the Europa League final that Leverkusen missed the treble.
In the case that the new KoBundesliga champion was favored by all walks of life, Leverkusen was beaten by Atlanta with three goals, and the unbeaten record of all fronts ended. The whole season performance of "Pharmaceutical Factory" has already exceeded the expectations of all circles. Why did it lose its grip in front of the unprecedented historical opportunity of the first intercontinental championship?
Leverkusen was in a low condition throughout the game.
If you walk a lot at night, you will encounter ghosts
In front of the Eindhoven Stadium in Dublin, Leverkusen was almost favored by all walks of life. Since they won the Bundesliga championship five times ahead of schedule on April 14, they have more than one month to prepare for the summit match. And Atlanta? They just lost the Coppa Italia final against Juventus last weekend.
The value gap between the two sides' starting lineups is also clear at a glance. The value of the 11 "pharmacy" players is up to 418 million euros, almost twice that of the "true blue black" (211 million euros). Atalanta's midfield sweeper De Jong En was suspended this game, and the staff was even more stretched out.
However, football is obviously not a simple addition and subtraction of value. Atlanta, which also runs the 3421 formation, has been eight years since Gasperini took office. Compared with Xabi Alonso, who has been in the cabinet for only one and a half years, he is more proficient in tactical execution.
For Alonso, this game is a key step for him to take against Guardiola and win three or even five trophies. However, like Guashuai, who was unable to play in the 2021 Champions League final, Alonso also made an interesting "adjustment" this game: Boniface and Hick, the two front Indian centers, sat on the bench and played the center with Adelie, the front man. Gather a lot of troops in the middle of the field, and hang each other with the opponent for consumption.
But obviously, this is the advantage of attacking the enemy with one's own shortcomings. In the first half, Atlanta striker Lukman first caught Palacios' man marking and scored a goal, and then broke the ball into the world wave again in the attack defense transition.
This is almost the biggest pit dug by the invincible "pharmaceutical factory" so far this season. Data can prove the downturn of "pharmaceutical factories". As the core of the midfield, Zaka's passing success rate was only 75%, and he failed to intercept and cross once.
Of course, for those fans who are familiar with Leverkusen, this seems to be no problem. After all, Leverkusen has always been good at striking after the second half of this season, especially when he scored as many as 13 goals in stoppage time, of which 10 goals were final wins or draws. But the trajectory of the game in the second half made even the most optimistic pharmaceutical fans laugh.
Zaka, the central midfielder, was completely restricted.
As the source of inspiration for Leverkusen's attack, Grimaldo and Frimpong on the two flanks were completely locked by Atlanta. The midfield led by Edson was like a breakwater, which kept Leverkusen's pass and control from playing. With Lukman's explosive shot in the counter attack, he completed his hat trick with three successful shots, and the game was actually over.
The Europa League final is the only match in which Leverkusen has scored less than one goal in 52 games so far this season. For the new German champion who is famous for attacking, if he cannot score, he will lose.
As a key figure in the rise of the pharmaceutical factory, Alonso, who was at the peak of his career, repeated the collapse of Guardiola's track. At the same time, the 66 year old Gasperini tasted the taste of champion for the first time in his 21 year coaching career. The latter has entered the finals of various competitions for four times, but all of them lost.
Human joys and sorrows are not the same. On this night, Atlanta, which is looked down upon, made Leverkusen suffer the first and worst setback education of this season.
Alonso was defeated in the battle with coach Gasperini.
Leave in advance, and you will suffer
"Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen knelt down before the great performance of Atlanta tonight." After the game, the Spanish newspaper Le Monde did not save face for his compatriots. Alonso himself was also dispirited after the game.
"The defeat will happen sooner or later. We have been very good throughout the season, but this night is really painful. Even if the opponent is so good, it has not alleviated this feeling. But there is no excuse for the defeat, even if it is not easy to stand up again."
The dream of breaking the Europa League also announced the end of the "pharmacy metaphysics". Whether it's the German Bundesliga match against Stuttgart and Dortmund, or the Europa League match against Karabakh and Rome, Alonso's Leverkusen will never lose this season, but this time, they paid the most expensive tuition fees in the place closest to the great cause.
In less than two seasons since Alonso took office, Leverkusen has been on the verge of rewriting history twice, but the last time they were killed by Mourinho's Rome in the semi-final of the Europa League, this time they overturned their opponents in Serie A. In a sense, this is also an unwritten "blood suppression".
From coach Alonso to sports director Rolfes, Atlanta is recognized as a better performance and more worthy of the championship. But from another point of view, Leverkusen has really gone "floating" after the historic top of the Bundesliga.
Looking back, Alonso's preparations did not achieve the results he expected.
The Bundesliga suspense ended in mid April, and Leverkusen had enough time to prepare for the Europa League. However, it was clear that the players who had been strained for more than half of the season felt exhausted.
And the whole pharmaceutical factory seems to have been immersed in unprecedented joy, relaxing one by one. Alonso also generously gave the main players a holiday and took turns off. So before the Europa League, Leverkusen's regular start almost never got together and played a game with enough intensity.
Champions may not need to change, but they definitely need hunger. This is best exemplified by Guardiola's Manchester City. Even if Gua Shuai, who is highly demanded by his rivals, continues to encourage and even "brainwash", Manchester City, who is occasionally distracted, still lost the match with Real Madrid's Tianwangshan because of laxity and complacency.
Compared with Manchester City, which has dominated the Premier League for four years in a row, Leverkusen, who has just entered the championship track, is really too naive and naive. The revolution has not yet succeeded. What champagne are you eager to open?
Next season may be the real test for Alonso.
It's easy to occupy the mountain top, but difficult to keep the foundation
Twenty two years ago, Bayer Leverkusen, who insisted on winning the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the Champions League until the last moment, gained the "King of Sanya". But unlike today, they lost the European war to Real Madrid, the elite, rather than Atlanta, which seems to be a "grass team".
To the satisfaction of the pharmaceutical factory players today, their final opponents in the German Cup, the last battle line of this season, were much weaker than Schalke 04. In the face of Kaiserslautern from the German second division, Leverkusen's winning face is obviously much bigger.
Losing the Europa League final is not the end of the world for Leverkusen. After defeating Rome in the semi-final, they have surpassed Barcelona in European points in the past five seasons and won the seat of the last first seed team after the reform of the Champions League next season.
Even if we take ten thousand steps back, Leverkusen's only Bundesliga champion this season will not hinder their magical performance throughout the season. After all, what they ended was the most stubborn power in the five major leagues, pulling Bayern down. In any era of Bundesliga, it is worth writing about.
But the problem also follows. After summer, where will Leverkusen go?
On the surface, the basic foundation of the "pharmaceutical factory" is still there. In addition to Alonso's early rejection of the invitation from Bayern and Liverpool and his determination to stick to the Bayer Arena, the core of the team, Wiltz, has also expressed that he will respect the contract and consider the question of whether to stay or not until 2025 at least. But it is clear that Leverkusen is far from enough to keep people.
At present, the main force of Leverkusen is basically not interested in moving, but it is also a fact that the substitute strength is limited and there is a lack of weaknesses of outstanding players. However, Gruda, Nusa, Somerville and others that the team intends to introduce at present are mostly newcomers, who still need Alonso's constant training.
After all, Dortmund, who was also excellent 11 years ago, has proved that it is not difficult to complete the counter attack while Bayern napped, but the difficult thing is to continue to become bigger and stronger in the Bundesliga and even in Europe under the pervasive suppression of Bayern.
(supine support/Yang Jian)
