Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso said his side need a miracle to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals after being hammered 3-0 by German rivals Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
England forward Harry Kane scored in each half to guide the six-times European champions to victory in the first leg in Munich.
It was a bitterly disappointing evening for the visitors, who suffered their first defeat by Bayern since Alonso took charge in October 2022.
“The second goal, the red card and the penalty — everything went in Bayern’s favour. And that’s why we got this result,” Alonso told DAZN.
“We have to show a mature performance to control that better. The mistakes and details are important, but it’s a bitter evening for us … One goal more or less can make a big difference.
“We’ve seen that there are always big miracles in football and we almost need one now. But we’ll see… It’s football, it’s not the first time and there’s still a game at home.”
Bayern manager Vincent Kompany spent little time enjoying the victory.
“It’s the first half. We still have to get into the second game,” he said. “There’s zero percent thinking about the course of the game or anything else. Total focus so that we’re good again in the next game,” Kompany said.
“We’re staying calm, we’ve always reacted and shown that we’re ready for what lies ahead — and that has to continue.”
