Xabi Alonso admitted he was ‘proud’ of his Bayer Leverkusen side, despite stating that their Europa League final defeat by Atalanta was ‘painful’.
The German side’s fairytale season came to an abrupt ending on Wednesday night in Dublin, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta thumped Leverkusen 3-0 at the Aviva Stadium, to end their 51-game unbeaten run and extinguish their treble hopes.
‘For me, the result today does not change one bit how I feel about my players or what we have been doing,’ the Spaniard said to the BBC after the match.
‘It hurts because we wanted to lift the trophy but you can’t have everything. We lifted the Bundesliga and we have the chance to lift the DFB Pokal on Saturday.’
Leverkusen have not lost in nearly a year, with their last competitive defeat coming on May 27, 2023 – a 3-0 defeat to VFL Bochum.
Xabi Alonso has admitted his ‘pain’ after Bayern Leverkusen suffered defeat in the Europa League final
The German side were beaten 3-0 by Atalanta in the final, ending their unbeaten streak
Ademola Lookman (right) scored a hat-trick of sensational goals to seal the victory for the Serie A side
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‘It wasn’t our day. We’ve had a bad night. It hurts that it happened in such an important match.’
He added: ‘The normality is not to suffer a first defeat in the 52nd game. It’s exceptional what we achieved and we should be proud. But it’s painful.’
In little over a year-and-a-half Alonso has managed to galvanise this Bayer Leverkusen team to win their first Bundesliga title, while also reaching the Europa League and German Cup final.
His record in the league currently sits at an impressive 2.65 points-per-game, with Alonso’s side having amassed a whopping 90 points this season, just one shy of Bayern Munich’s record 91-point 2012-13 campaign.
‘Yes for sure this season and achievements have surpassed all expectations. I was hoping and getting ready to maybe do something great but this has been so much more,’ he said, noting his side’s excellent form.
‘To achieve what we have for a club like Leverkusen is great. To be in the last week of the season having lifted the Bundesliga and playing today we couldn’t make it and then going for the Pokal too means a lot. First year as a coach, it is going quite well.’
The victory was Atalanta’s first European trophy and their first piece of siverwear in 61 years
Alonso lumped praise on his Leverkusen side for how well they have performed to go 51 games unbeaten
The Spanish Coach (left) stated that his side’s performances this season had ‘surpassed expectations’
Leverkusen had become the kings of the last-gasp goal this season, but after going 2-0 down, Atalanta tightened their grip on the match, and it seemed Alonso’s side, who rank top in Europe this season for the most decisive goals after 90 minutes, could not muster a comeback.
Former Everton and Fulham winger Ademola Lookman stood up as Atalanta’s hero on the night, scoring a hat-trick of sensational goals to guide his side to their first European trophy and their first piece of silverware in 61 years.
‘Yes I would say so [they were better in every aspect],’ he said to TNT Sports while speaking on Leverkusen. ‘When they scored the first goal they got a lot of energy.
‘We probably tried to play too many passes in the first phase when we should have tried to attract the first player then go long a bit more.
‘It was not about tactics. Individually they were better and as a team as well. We have to learn from that. It hurts that it comes on a big day like today but we have another final on Saturday and we will try to learn from today.’
Gian Piero Gasperini (left) stated that his side ‘were extrodinary’ during their Europa league campaign
Atalanta had beaten Sporting, Liverpool and Marseille to reach the final, before besting Leverkusen
Atalanta boss, Gasperini lumped praise on his players after they produced a dominant display to overturn the Bundesliga champions.
‘I think we wrote history, also for the way we won it,’ the Atalanta boss told TNT Sports.
‘It was just extraordinary, we defeated Liverpool, Sporting who won the championship. When we faced Liverpool they were first in the Premier League… And now the German champions.
‘Incredible. The boys were extraordinary, a memorable performance.’
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