Leverkusen reached the Europa League final last year. They're tough. Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Tah, youth with great potential, are their foundation. The team will be well-drilled and disciplined under Xabi Alonso
Yes, the Champions League group stage draw is brutal. However, that's competition. Every team struggles. Your reaction to challenges defines you. I expect Leverkusen, led by Alonso, to fight hard
I am not going to be expecting that much from Bayern Leverkusen since this is their first time playing in the champions league competition under Xabi Alonso. When we have too much expectations from them, it becomes very hard for the team and our expectations from them when not met will make us undervalue them as a team. I know Bayern Leverkusen will try their best, but what is more important is that they try their best to go far in the competition before elimination if at all they’ll face one on the competition.
Leverkusen qualified for the Champions League not because of the achievements they made in the Europa League, but as a result of being able to finish in first place in the Bundesliga, they must be prepared to face more difficult competition because there are so many big teams there. The Europa League will be filled with other teams who are ready to show new surprises, but it could be that the team that wins the Europa League is the team that is eliminated from the Champions League.
Bayern Leverkusen success to the champions league is because of their performance throughout the league. Even if they never participated in the Europa League, they would have as well qualified for the Champions League with that great performance they had in the last season. The champions league is different from the Europa League because much is expected from every team and if you underperform, you’ll be easily eliminated from the competition. Bayern Leverkusen has what it takes but I don’t have full confidence in them to win the trophy.