Bundesliga braced for Leverkusen-Bayern Munich title showdown،
Rhineland prides itself on a fun-filled approach to life most of the time, but especially during the week of Carnival. It just so happens that this flamboyant, multi-day festival of extravagant costumes, drunkenness and general forgetfulness of mundane everyday life coincides with the very serious business of a Bundesliga. Gipfeltreffen (summit meeting).
It's one thing to be top of the table and playing second, but when both teams are as talented as Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, there needs to be intrigue surrounding Saturday's showdown. (12:30 p.m. ET, live stream on ESPN+) at an even more advanced level – here in Germany and beyond.
Leverkusen is making headlines, and rightly so. How could it be otherwise when you have gone 30 matches without defeat in all competitions since the start of the season and you have done it with patient, passing football that delights all those who love this game?
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Bayern, although two points behind Worker (Factory Between them, the two leaders have collected an astonishing 102 points, which represents a championship record heading into a 21st day.
Bayer Leverkusen's past is littered with stories, notably in 2000 when they lost the title on the final day, and in 2002 when they found themselves in contention at the denouement while qualifying for the final of the Champions League and the DFB-Pokal for good measure. . However, there was no trophy parade in either year. Not since 1993 when they won the Pokal has a major piece of silverware arrived in Leverkusen.
As a result, nicknames, Vizekusen (Finalist-kusen, if you like) and the even crueler Neverkusen got stuck. But as former Bayer 04 goalkeeper René Adler recently pointed out, it's unlikely that players like Granit Xhaka, Alejandro Grimaldo, Jeremie Frimpong or World Cup winner Exequiel Palacios can relate to this title. They live and thrive in a glorious here and now, far from the mundane clichés of the past.
We can't talk about Leverkusen's composure without linking it to manager difficult place to get to on a raw day.
Despite Bayer's dominance, the score remained 0-0 going into stoppage time. While many teams changed course and went more direct, Leverkusen held true to their coach's beliefs in cherishing the ball and, 94th minute, he got his reward after perhaps the smoothest passing movement of the match finished by Palacios.
A week later, at RB Leipzig, it was Leverkusen's late spectacle again, with Piero Hincapié scoring the winner in the 91st minute after overturning a 2-1 deficit. Then on Tuesday at the Pokal, against a sparkling VfB Stuttgart, they twice showed the resilience needed to come back and level the match before Jonathan Tah headed home a gem of a ball from Florian Wirtz, this time just wide. 90th minute. The Bayer 04 looks like he's never beaten and just doesn't panic.
Leverkusen, one of only two Bundesliga teams remaining in the Pokal, are now the overwhelming favorites to lift the Pott. The Europa League, in which they benefit from a bye to the round of 16, also awaits them.
But what about College (champions bowl), the ultimate prize and which has always eluded them before? Saturday against Conductor (record holders) will be a good guide to their prospects but by no means decisive.
It is precisely Leverkusen's magnificent football that has managed to give the impression that Bayern are underperforming when in fact, by all estimates, they are excelling and are indeed seven points higher than at the corresponding time last season under Julian Nagelsmann.
Thomas Tuchel has at times been the lightning rod for criticism, which is somewhat unfair given the high number of injuries recently in a team already – by the standards of Bayern and top clubs – thin. Tuchel made this point from the start of the campaign, but in his words and in his style he is perhaps a better-liked coach outside Germany than in Germany. In an interview with Archie Rhind-Tutt of ESPN, Tuchel said he felt more valued in England, and it remains a media topic here in England. federal Republic.
Where we can be critical is in the evaluation of performances which were variable even within matches. Last week, against Borussia Mönchengladbach, when they bounced back from conceding first and won 3-1, and in the 1-0 loss to Werder Bremen, they lacked rhythm.
Tuchel suddenly now has a choice: at right back between newcomer Sacha Boey and Noussair Mazraoui; and in central defense with Kim Min-Jae, back after South Korea's Asian Cup dismissal by Jordan, and Dayot Upamecano, back fit after a thigh muscle injury. In midfield he even has what we call the Qual der Wahl (the torment of choice) with Joshua Kimmich available again after a shoulder problem, but should he return to the fold at the expense of Aleksandar Pavlovic, 19, who has formed a respectable alliance with Leon Goretzka? Pavlovic also delivers some devilish kick deliveries, a significant detail.
Bayern still rely on the individual qualities of Harry Kane, whose 24 goals in 20 matches include three hat-tricks, Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala. And we can't forget Thomas Müller, even though he only started eight times in the league.
Stuttgart in midweek may have given the Conductor a sort of model for Leverkusen with an effective high pressing game which, once fully coordinated, troubled the Worker play from the back. Bayern themselves used this tactic to good effect, sacrificing possession for efficiency in a high-profile match against Stuttgart in December and winning 3-0.
The fact remains that this is a Leverkusen team without notable weaknesses and that its squad is more evenly distributed than that of Bayern.
On Carnival Festival (Carnival Saturday), we should look forward to a festive event. Can Wirtz, still only 20 years old and missing much of his early career due to an ACL, score two of the three goals magnificently in the Pokal triumph? stage ?
Will Xhaka, who has landed in the right place at this late stage of his career, shape the game and set the table for a possible five-point advantage at the top? Or will Bayern, who have a history of getting things right when it really counts, catapult themselves above Bayer and into first place?
Showdowns like this don't happen every week.
