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Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso faces an uphill battle against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last 16, needing a comeback of historic proportions to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit.
Alonso, who played a key role in Liverpool’s legendary 2005 Champions League final comeback, must now inspire a similar feat when his side hosts Bayern on Tuesday. The former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder scored the equaliser in that famous night in Istanbul when the Reds recovered from 3-0 down at half-time to draw 3-3 before winning on penalties.
Leverkusen, who had never lost to Bayern in six matches under Alonso, crumbled in the first leg in Munich, gifting their opponents goals through a goalkeeping blunder, an unnecessary penalty, and poor marking for a Harry Kane header.
Adding to their troubles, midfield maestro Florian Wirtz could miss the return leg after limping off injured on Saturday.
Bayern, motivated by the prospect of a final on home turf in Munich, were already favourites, but the first-leg collapse has left Leverkusen with a mountain to climb. The club has not reached the Champions League quarter-finals since 2002, when they made it to the final only to lose to Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid.
Alonso acknowledged the immense challenge ahead, but drew on past experiences to keep hope alive.
“We’ve seen big miracles quite often in football, and we almost need one,” Alonso said after the first-leg defeat. “It’s football, it’s not my first time being against the odds, and there’s another game at home.”
Despite being relatively new to top-level coaching, Alonso has already orchestrated remarkable turnarounds in Leverkusen. When he took over in October 2022, the club was hovering near relegation and still burdened by the infamous “Neverkusen” nickname due to their long history of falling short.
Alonso immediately transformed their fortunes, leading them to a 2-1 victory over Bayern, which turned out to be Julian Nagelsmann’s final match before being sacked. The following season, Leverkusen pulled off an unbeaten domestic double and made it to the Europa League final, where they suffered their only loss in 53 games.
Alonso’s men built a reputation for dramatic late goals, netting 17 stoppage-time winners last season alone.
Both Leverkusen and Bayern stumbled in Bundesliga action on Saturday, suffering shock defeats. Leverkusen fell 2-0 at home to Werder Bremen, a team that had won just one of their last 10 games in 2025. Bayern lost 3-2 to relegation-threatened Bochum, their first home defeat to the club since 1991.
A win against Bremen would have brought Leverkusen within five points of league leaders Bayern, setting the stage for a psychological boost ahead of Tuesday. Instead, Alonso admitted his side failed to bounce back from their Champions League collapse.
