Leverkusen fail to extend Bundesliga lead in draw with Monchengladbach
After Jurgen Klopp’s surprise announcement yesterday that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso was amongst the early names mentioned to take over in the summer.
Keen to set the speculation to one side as they focus on their Bundesliga title push, the hosts started brightly and came close to taking the lead inside 10 minutes when Nadiem Amiri forced a fine save out of Moritz Nicolas.
Beating Nicolas was proving to be problematic for Alonso’s side, who despite their near-incessant pressure, couldn’t breach his goal - as Florian Wirtz found out midway through the first half when his close range strike was repelled by the Gladbach stopper.
It certainly wasn’t for the want of trying that Die Werkself went into the break on level terms, with Álex Grimaldo the latest in a long line of players to unsuccessfully try their luck on the stroke of HT when his effort whistled wide of the post.
The second half opened with a much similar pattern and with Leverkusen in the ascendancy. Wastefulness was still the order of play though, with Jeremie Frimpong and Grimaldo both squandering glorious opportunities within 15 minutes of the restart.
Frustration was certainly growing at the BayArena, and as the chances began to dry up a little, you started to wonder whether Leverkusen were running out of options - particularly in the final third.
As Gladbach inched closer to the finishing line, more and more bodies were defending their 18-yard box, and ultimately that proved too much for Alonso’s side to break down, forcing them to settle for what he’ll undoubtedly see as an underwhelming point.
It leaves the door gently ajar for Bayern to close the gap when they take to the field tomorrow, and with the reigning champions visiting the BayArena in two weeks time, Leverkusen will be acutely aware that the title race could look much different in a fortnight’s time.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Moritz Nicolas (Borussia Monchengladbach)
