Alonso to give Leverkusen fans ‘a night to remember’ against Roma
Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso said he wanted to give the team’s fans something to remember for years in Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg at home against Roma.
Leverkusen lost 1-0 in Rome but Alonso, who tasted Champions League glory with Liverpool and Real Madrid, said his side knew “the result is still open”.
“Our goal is that in a few years, people will remember tomorrow night because of the atmosphere and the passion we will have,” said Alonso, who took over Leverkusen in October and lited them out of the relegation zone to European contention.
“I feel the energy from the team and we’ll give everything.
“When we’ve given everything, then we can leave with our heads held high.”
Alonso admited, however, that he was not able to second-guess what Roma manager Jose Mourinho, who coached Alonso for three years at Real Madrid, would be thinking ahead of the return leg.
“It’s not easy to know what’s going on in his mind,” said the Leverkusen manager.
“He’s a special character. He’s able to transmit a winning mentality to his teams and he’s doing that in Rome.”
Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz said on Wednesday his side “don’t need a miracle” to reach the Europa League final and have the quality to “turn the game around”.
“We would have liked a beter starting position, but there does not need to be a miracle tomorrow,” the 20-year-old midfielder said at Wednesday’s press conference.
“We have shown in Europe again and again what we are made of and what our strengths are.”
Leverkusen have beaten Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Union Berlin and RB Leipzig at home this season and Wirtz said his side “know we will have the stadium behind us”.
“In Rome, the whole stadium was against us. (The fans) will motivate us from the beginning, even during the warm-up.
“I definitely want to get into the final. Nothing else maters.”
SEVILLA BANK ON EN-NESYRI: Youssef Ennesyri could easily have walked away from Sevilla’s grim situation in January, but the Moroccan international stayed and his goals have fired the Andalusians to the brink of another
Leverkusen lost 1-0 in Rome but Alonso, who tasted Champions League glory with Liverpool and Real Madrid, said his side knew “the result is still open”
Europa League final.
The striker pounced to score against Juventus in the semi-final first leg in Turin last week, before Federico Gati’s last-gasp header let the tie level ahead of Thursday’s second leg at the Ramon Sanchez-pizjuan.
Sevilla were deep in a relegation batle at the start of the year, turfed out of the Champions League, and En-nesyri had managed just two goals in that competition, and none in La Liga.
The 25-year-old returned from the Qatar World Cup with hero status in Morocco for his fine performances and three goals on the country’s incredible run to the semi-finals.
En-nesyri’s soaring header against Portugal in the quarter-final was claimed to have broken Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for highest headed goal, and soon Sevilla were on the rise too.
The forward turned down all approaches in the winter transfer window and set to work on a challenge set by then-sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli, that he would reach 20 goals by the end of the season.
“I thank all the clubs that have contacted my agent, but at the moment I just want to keep my mind on Sevilla,” said En-nesyri in a statement put out by his agent in January.
“It’s not a question of money. It’s a sporting mater, of wanting to help the team in the worst moments.”