“I won’t have any direct influence during the game. It’s a new situation. However, I’m able to be with the team before the game and at half-time, where we can discuss tactical things,” Alonso explained of his suspension. The Spaniard picked up his fourth yellow card of the campaign in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with VfB Stuttgart and will therefore have to observe proceedings in Frankfurt from the stands. His assistants Sebastian Parilla and Alberto Encinas will take charge of things on the touchline. In any case, Alonso is not concerned: “Sebastian and Alberto know how they can control the game. And the team’s also intelligent enough to make its own decisions on the pitch.”
Alonso on Frankfurt: “High tempo, lots of flexibility”
On the subject of Eintracht, who have lost only one of their last 25 Bundesliga home games, Alonso said: “They have a very good coach and good players. They often play with high tempo and are flexible in their system. It’ll be a hard game. Matches in Frankfurt aren’t easy.” The 42-year-old also recalled the last time the Werkself went to Germany’s financial capital, losing 5-1 on 15 October 2022 in just his second Bundesliga game in charge. “That game was a good lesson for us. We could see why we weren’t in a good situation. We lacked structure and concentration. We’ve learned from that. The development wasn’t immediate, but we gradually improved.”
Bayer 04 have since improved so much that they are now champions and unbeaten in their last 47 competitive fixtures. Talking of the undefeated streak, Alonso said: “Obviously every team wants to be the first to beat us. It gets a bit tougher every week to remain unbeaten. But we obviously want good results in these final three league games as well.”
5,600 Fans in Frankfurt
Although Alonso won’t be on the touchline on Sunday, he has a full squad at his disposal for the game. As usual, though, he refused to reveal anything about his line-up. “We don’t have any injured players. Everyone’s ready. It’s important because we don’t have much time to prepare. We’ll see who starts on Sunday. We have enough options.” Whoever does feature will be supported by 5,600 travelling Leverkusen fans at Deutsche Bank Park. The away section is sold out.
