March 8 (Reuters) – Bayer Leverkusen were minutes away from ending their unbeaten season on Thursday, but manager Xabi Alonso said the idea of losing does not frighten him and he is concerned about how his team will react when they finally do. He said he was more concerned about whether he would do so.
Leverkusen won a 2-2 draw against Azerbaijan's Qarabag in the Europa League with Patrik Schick's equalizer in the 92nd minute, extending their unbeaten record in all competitions to 35 games.
The German side was losing 2-0 with 20 minutes remaining, but midfielder Florian Wirtz made a come-from-behind start in the first leg of the last-16 tie.
Asked how close his team came to their first loss of the season, Alonso said: “To be honest, I'm not too scared of our first loss.
“That can happen, that's football.”… Don't worry.
“The most important thing for me is that the team's momentum, atmosphere and energy are good. And I hope that remains the case after the loss.”
Leverkusen, who will host the second leg on March 14, have a 10-point lead in the Bundesliga with 10 league games in hand. game left. They host VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
((Shifa.Jahan@thomsonreuters.com;))
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