Leverkusen poised to pressure Bayern, claims Alonso

Bayer Leverkusen are determined to keep their title hopes alive by putting pressure on league leaders Bayern Munich, according to Xabi Alonso. Currently in second place with 56 points, Leverkusen are six points behind Bayern with eight matches remaining. Last season, they accumulated 70 points at this stage, making this their second-best Bundesliga campaign. However, history shows that only Stuttgart in 2006-07 have ever overturned such a deficit this late in the season to win the title. Opta’s supercomputer rates Leverkusen’s chances of claiming the Bundesliga title at just 5.8%, with a 93.9% likelihood of finishing in second place. Despite these odds, Alonso believes Leverkusen still have a chance and is focused on their upcoming match against Bochum on Friday. He stated, “It is clear what we have to do and that is to fight until the end and the first chance we have to reduce Bayern’s lead to three points is [on Friday]. We want to put as much pressure on them as possible.” Leverkusen will also face Arminia Bielefeld in their DFB-Pokal semi-final tie on Tuesday. Alonso dismissed rumors of him leaving Leverkusen to coach his former club, Real Madrid, stating that his focus is on the current season and nothing else.