What Alonso has done with Leverkusen truly is amazing. He made them a true team. But this loss exposed everything wrong with the "no-striker" strategy in knockout football. Sure, you can get away with flexible rotations in the Bundesliga; but, against Bayern? They left Leverkusener toothless, smothered Wirtz, isolated Adli
Bayern is ruthless. Kane silenced the critics; Musiala is becoming a killer; Kompany is beginning to look like a legit coach. Nine months in, and he already finds himself under comparison to Klopp and Guardiola? That isn't crazy. And the way Bayern publicly flirting for signing Wirtz right before this game? Coincidence? Not a chance
The second leg serves just formality. Leverkusen deserves a miracle. Bayern will play smart, though; back off, counter, kill the clock. Job done. Alonso has a future; yet, this was a harsh lesson
Even if he loses, going to last sixteen with Leverkusen, while also being second place at Bundesliga is still a huge achievement for Leverkusen. The public opinion of them is screwed up because they went 50+ games unbeaten last year and many thought they were too good. But reality is before Xabi Alonso came along, they were not a team to do all of this, a second place and a last 16 at UCL would have been a celebration for them.
So he doesn't need to win to be a good manager, he is also a good manager, making Leverkusen overachieve at every step along the way. Unless he finishes outside of top four, and loses at group stages, he is doing a better job than expected with the team he has been given, and he did that this year too. Wonder how long he will stay, I expect him to go to a bigger team already.