Soccer Football - Europa League - Round of 16 - First Leg - Qarabag v Bayer Leverkusen - Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan - March 7, 2024 Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso reacts REUTERS/Aziz Karimov
(Reuters) - Bayer Leverkusen were minutes away from seeing their unbeaten season come to an end on Thursday but coach Xabi Alonso said the thought of losing holds no fear for him and he is more concerned with how his team reacts when defeat finally comes their way.
Leverkusen took their unbeaten run to 35 games in all competitions after Patrik Schick's 92nd minute equalizer earned them a 2-2 Europa League draw at Azerbaijan's Qarabag.
The German side were 2-0 down with 20 minutes left before midfielder Florian Wirtz started the comeback in the first leg of the last-16 tie.
Asked about how close his side came to experiencing their first defeat of the season, Alonso said: "To be honest, I'm not too scared of the first defeat.
"It can happen, that's football... I won't be worried.
"The most important thing for me is that the momentum, the mood and the energy in the team is good. And hopefully that will still be the case after a defeat."
Leverkusen, who host the second leg on March 14, have a 10-point lead in the Bundesliga with 10 league games left. They host VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
