Soccer Football - Champions League - Bayer Leverkusen v AC Milan - BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany - October 1, 2024 Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso before the match REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
LEVERKUSEN, Germany (Reuters) - Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso praised his side for fighting fatigue to take all three points after they dominated the opening hour against AC Milan and did enough to earn a 1-0 win in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Leverkusen have a maximum six points after a 4-0 win over Feyenoord in their opening game, but were unable to put Milan away after taking a deserved lead, which Alonso put down to tiredness after their 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich on Saturday.
"I think it's great news that German football is competitive. It's good news for us too to have achieved this result against Milan," Alonso told Sky Sports.
"Our first sixty minutes were good but in the end we suffered from fatigue after the game against Bayern Munich.
"We showed spirit and character, these three points are very good. In the Champions League you have to know how to suffer and fight, not just play well."
Leverkusen had plenty of chances in the opening half but failed to find the net and a struggling Milan held on to go in level at the break.
Instead of Leverkusen finishing the game off after finally taking the lead through Victor Boniface early in the second half, it was Milan who found an extra gear and threatened to snatch a draw on more than one occasion.
"We struggled a lot to score but maybe after the goal we changed our approach too quickly. Maybe we lacked something on a physical level" Alonso said.
"We had the right respect and took them very seriously. The last 20 minutes were not quite as good, but the players gave everything to get the three points."
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Toby Davis)
