Bayer Leverkusen's Spanish head coach Xabi Alonso reacts at the end of the UEFA Champions League football match between Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield stadium, in Liverpool, north west England, on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
Berlin: With eight games remaining in the Bundesliga season, Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso promised his side would "fight until the end" in their chase of league leaders Bayern Munich.
Defending champions Leverkusen host 16th-placed Bochum on Friday and will draw to within three points of Bayern if they win.
A day later, Bayern host a St Pauli side who are one spot but five points above Bochum.
Normally reserved and circumspect, Alonso was bullish in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, saying the game was "super important... now the goal is clear, to fight until the end.
"We can reduce Bayern's lead to three points tomorrow. We want to put as much pressure on them as possible."
Leverkusen's 4-3 win over Stuttgart two weeks ago, in which they came from 3-1 down to win with a stoppage-time goal, was reminiscent of last season's incredible late-game heroics on their way to the Bundesliga title.
Alonso also revealed that injured midfielder Florian Wirtz, originally slated to return in April, would be back "sooner than expected", giving Leverkusen extra incentive to keep the race alive.
"He feels better. He's close. We don't want to be conservative with Flo -- we want to go full throttle, take risks. If he can play a little earlier, we'll take that risk."
While Bochum and St Pauli may be 16th and 15th respectively, the lowly table placings of Leverkusen and Bayern's opponents this weekend do not tell the full story.
Since Dieter Hecking took over as coach in November, Bochum have beaten Bayern and Borussia Dortmund, while fighting to draws against Leverkusen and RB Leipzig.
