Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, one of the best teams in the 2023-24 season, They are scheduled to face AC Milan on Tuesday while UEFA Champions League second leg matchday At the Bay Arena. The German side, who won the Bundesliga title last season and became one of the few undefeated clubs in the tournament’s history, lost 3-0 to Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League final. They started the 2024-25 season with a 4-0 win over Feyenoord in their first match in European competition. On the other hand, Paulo Fonseca’s team performed poorly in the season opener and lost 1-3 to Liverpool in the Champions League opener, but just when things seemed to be going for the worst, the Rossoneri managed to win. The derby della Madonnina against Inter won 3-0 against Lecce last weekend. Now let’s take a look at the two rosters and compare them.
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goalkeeper
Lukas Hradecky or Mike Maignan?
French goalkeeper Mike Maignan is probably one of the best goalkeepers in Europe. He has shown over the past three seasons that his value and individual performance have had a direct impact on the team. On the other hand, Lukasz Hradecki was one of the key players in Bayer Leverkusen’s exciting performance in the 2023-24 Bundesliga, where the Germans went undefeated in the league. Considering their overall defense, Bayer have a more solid defense compared to AC Milan, but in individual comparisons they tend to have more French goalkeepers.
Selection: Maignan
Offensive threat from left-back
Grimaldo or Theo Hernández?
Grimaldo was another face and icon of Bayer Leverkusen last season, and was clearly one of the best players in Europe last year, scoring 12 goals and providing 20 assists across 52 games in all competitions. Numbers that do not need to be underlined or explained. Xabi Alonso’s tactical approach has helped Grimaldo play more as an attacking player than a defender like Theo Hernández, one of the best left-backs in Europe. So if you only need to consider offensive threats, the choice is quite easy.
Choice: Grimaldo
Light Side Danger Man
Jeremy Frimpong or Christian Pulisic?
Jeremie Frimpong, along with Grimaldo and Florian Wirtz, was the face of Bayer Leverkusen’s win last year, but Christian Pulisic has had a superb start to the new season. The United States men’s national team winger has scored five goals and provided two assists in his first seven games of the season across all competitions, and has continued to impress after a positive first season in Italy’s Serie A. He is clearly the most important player for Fonseca at the moment. Considering the disappointing performance of other key players like Rafael Leao today.
Pick: Pulisic
Dynamic Duo
Wirtz and Boniface or Leao and Pulisic?
It’s a different story when it comes to dynamic attacking duos. Yes, Leao and Pulisic are two of the best players in Serie A and their talent is unquestionable, but Florian Wirtz and Victor Boniface are probably the biggest reasons for the recent success of the team coached by Alonso. The Nigerian forward scored 21 goals in 34 games last season, while the German talent scored 18 goals and provided 20 assists last season and has already scored six goals in the first seven games of the 2024-25 season. While we’ve already mentioned Pulisic’s numbers, Leo has scored just one goal and four assists in his opening seven goals of the season. For the sake of this comparison, the numbers speak for themselves.
Selection: Wirtz and Boniface
coach
Xabi Alonso or Fonseca?
It is somewhat unfair to compare Xabi Alonso’s achievements with those of Paulo Fonseca. That’s because the Rossoneri manager was only appointed this summer, beginning a new cycle at the club. After some struggles early on, he now appears to be back on track after wins in his last two games against Inter and Lecce, but it is still too early to assess his achievements. On the other hand, we have one of Europe’s best coaches, having won the Bundesliga last season without losing a tournament for the first time in Bayer Leverkusen’s history.
Pick: Xabi Alonso
How to watch and odds
- date: Tuesday, October 1 | hour: 3 PM ET
- location: BayArena – Leverkusen, Germany
- see: Paramount+
- multiplication: Bayer Leverkusen -125; Draw +200. AC Milan +320
Don’t miss the Champions League. As always, you can catch all of our coverage throughout the season on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, and CBS Sports Golazo Network.
