LEVERKUSEN – Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said it was “hard to explain” why his unbeaten Bundesliga champions kept scoring late after the last-gasp 2-2 draw against Stuttgart on April 27.
Robert Andrich scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time, booting in a rebound from a Florian Wirtz free kick at BayArena.
The goal extended Leverkusen’s unbeaten run to 46 games in all competitions this season and kept the Bundesliga champions on track to become the first side to finish a league season undefeated.
“I haven’t seen that happen often in football. It’s hard to explain,” the 42-year-old told Sky.
Leverkusen have now scored 21 goals from the 86th minute onwards in all competitions this season. Ten of those have come in stoppage time to win or draw games.
Andrich’s 96th-minute goal was the second latest this season, after Josip Stanisic’s goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time which snatched a 1-1 draw at Borussia Dortmund on April 21.
Alonso ran along the touchline to celebrate Stanisic’s stunner at Signal Iduna Park but stood still and smiled after Andrich’s goal went in at home.
“Last week I got a little emotional, but this week I just could not believe we did it again,” he said.
Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness was disappointed the referee allowed the clock to run before Leverkusen’s goal in a “hectic and very emotional” game.
He said: “It was four minutes, then it was five minutes. In my view, the free kick should not have been allowed to happen.”
Leverkusen started the season with just two major trophies in their history – one German Cup and the Uefa Cup (now known as the Europa League).
Having broken through for the first league title in their 120-year history earlier in April, Alonso’s side are on course for a remarkable treble.
Leverkusen face AS Roma in the Europa League semi-finals, with the first leg in the Italian capital on May 2. Alonso’s side have also made it to the German Cup final, where they will face second-division Kaiserslautern on May 25.
Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich are also in European action in midweek, against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.
He also has his eyes set on Robert Lewandowski’s record for most Bundesliga goals in a season after scoring twice in a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, but the England striker acknowledges he needs “to get a move on”.
Kane scored on either side of half-time on April 27 to take his tally to 42 goals this season across all competitions, while also putting him over the 400-goal mark at senior level for clubs and country.
The 30-year-old has netted 35 goals in 31 Bundesliga appearances this season, six short of Lewandowski’s 41 in the 2020-21 season.
Asked about the possibility of breaking the record with three games left to play in Bayern’s league campaign, Kane said: “It’s possible, but obviously I have to get a move on.
“I’ve got to maybe score a few goals next week. It’s there, it’s in touching distance. It depends on the last few games, of course. But it was nice to add to it today and score a couple of goals to help the team.” AFP, REUTERS
