FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Bayer Leverkusen v VfL Wolfsburg - BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany - September 22, 2024 Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso before the match REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo
(Reuters) - Bayer Leverkusen are expecting Bayern Munich to go all out when the sides meet in the Bundesliga on Saturday and the champions will need to produce a perfect performance to take anything from the match, manager Xabi Alonso said.
Leverkusen last season became the first team to finish a Bundesliga campaign unbeaten as they lifted the trophy and ended Bayern's run of 11 straight titles, but this time around, their Bavarian opponents are determined to reclaim their crown.
League-leaders Bayern have won all four of their Bundesliga matches this season and sit top of the standings with 12 points, three more than second-placed Leverkusen.
"The anticipation is great and we want to show a good game. We need a perfect performance to take something home with us," Alonso told reporters on Friday.
"FC Bayern have made a good start to the season, it will be a challenge tomorrow. We need to play at our highest level, with and against the ball for 90 minutes. Bayern will go full throttle, we have to be ready for that."
Leverkusen have been defensively fragile this season, conceding nine goals in four league games, and they let in three in a roller-coaster 4-3 win over VfL Wolfsburg in their last match.
After the match Alonso slammed his side's poor defending and ahead of their game against Bayern, the Spaniard once again stressed the need for discipline in defence.
"The team has to be compact, we have to defend together as a team. We have a clear game plan, we can't be too soft and we can't allow large gaps," Alonso said.
"We have a clear game plan as to how we want to play. We will give everything... If we don't defend well, it's hard for the players to win. We want to be consistent. We don't want to be up and down."
Following their league clash against Bayern, Leverkusen host Italian side AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Toby Davis)
