Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich - BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany - February 15, 2025 Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
LEVERKUSEN, Germany (Reuters) - Bayer Leverkusen played a near-perfect game in their 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich on Saturday and the only thing missing was a goal to crown that "fantastic" performance, said coach Xabi Alonso.
The champions took control from the start and twice hit the woodwork midway through the first half, giving the visitors little breathing space with a high pressing game.
It was the first time in the Bundesliga since 1992 when stat collection started, that Bayern were without a shot on goal for an entire first half.
"We have the feeling that we played a fantastic game," Alonso told a press conference. "The way we have played is our best game against Bayern this year, even last year."
"We have done almost everything right but we missed the goal. We created enough chances. A fantastic performance. The other part is the result with which we are not that happy. But that's football.
"There are still a lot of points to be played," Alonso said, when asked whether the title race had been largely decided after his team failed to cut Bayern's lead. "We are still in all three competitions."
Leverkusen, who also had a golden chance in second half stoppage-time through Amine Adli, are in second place, eight points behind Bayern.
"Today they earned the right to have the ball. They pressed really well," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany. "So we had to defend. I have to give a massive compliment to my team."
Bayern, who were in action in midweek with a 2-1 win over Celtic in the Champions League playoff first leg in Glasgow, did not have an effort towards the Leverkusen goal for more than 70 minutes, despite having netted 65 goals in 21 league games prior to Saturday.
"This for us is a point that we can take home and focus on the next game," Kompany said. "Today they earned the right to put us under pressure. They did everything right. We will definitely learn from this game."
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
