There are many things that have changed in Leverkusen from that period to this period. They are undefeated this year and they did it in the Bundesliga and UEL. This final is their only defeat this season. I don't know if Atalanta will achieve this in this final match. In a few hours, the final match will end and we will see if the great record will continue for Leverkusen. This will be one of the most important matches of the year for Xabi.
I am also very curious whether Atalanta will be able to become the first team to beat Leverkusen this season. Or maybe Xabi Alonso's team will continue to win without anyone being able to stop it this season. It will be very interesting and I think Atalanta will be able to give Leverkusen trouble but I'm not sure if Atalanta will manage to win. Because sometimes Atalanta always weakens in important matches. For example, in the Coppa Italia final we could see Atalanta losing to Juventus. Even though Juventus was in poor performance at that time. And I hope Atalanta doesn't repeat its mistakes again.
Now the match has started and has entered the 12th minute and even though Liverpool have more possession of the ball, Atalanta seems to be able to put up quite a good fight. and as I write this Atalanta has scored 1 goal. And yes, this is a surprise from the Italian team, which is always a club that is difficult to predict in big competitions.