Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, one of the best teams of the 2023-24 season, will meet AC Milan on Tuesday during Matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase at the BayArena. The German side, after winning the Bundesliga in the past season, becoming one of the few unbeaten clubs in the history of the tournament, lost 3-0 in the UEFA Europa League final to Atalanta. They started off the 2024-25 season by winning 4-0 against Feyenoord in the first game of the European tournament. Paulo Fonseca’s team, on the other hand, struggled a lot in the opening games of the season and also lost 3-1 to Liverpool in the Champions League’s opener, but when things seemed to go in the worst direction possible, the Rossoneri managed to win the Derby della Madonnina against Inter and won 3-0 against Lecce over the past weekend. Let’s now 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 around Europe, and he showed it over the past three seasons his value and his individual performances had a direct impact on the team. On the other hand, Lukas Hradecky was one of the key players of the exciting Bayer Leverkusen run in the 2023-24 Bundesliga, when the Germans ended up unbeaten in the league. If we consider the defense in general, Bayer have a more solid one compared to AC Milan, but the individual comparison tends more for the French goalkeeper.
Pick: Maignan
Left-Back Offensive Threat
Grimaldo or Theo Hernandez?
Grimaldo was another one of the faces and icons of the Bayer Leverkusen run over the past season, and was definitely was one of the best players around Europe as he scored 12 goals and provided 20 assists in 52 games played in all competitions last year. Numbers that don’t need to be underlined and explained. The Xabi Alonso tactical approach helped Grimaldo to play as a offensive player, more than a defender such as Theo Hernandez, one of the best left-backs around Europe. So, if we need to consider only the offensive threat, the choice is quiet easy.
Pick: Grimaldo
Right Side Danger-Man
Jeremie Frimpong or Christian Pulisic?
While Jeremie Frimpong, alongside Grimaldo and Florian Wirtz, was the face of the winning Bayer Leverkusen run over the last year, Christian Pulisic had an excellent start of the new season. The United States men’s national team winger scored five goals and provided two assists in his first seven games of the season in all competitions, continuing to impress after a positive first season in the Italian Serie A. He’s definitely the most important player for Fonseca as of today, considering the disappointing performances of other key players such as Rafael Leao.
Pick: Pulisic
Dynamic Duo
Wirtz and Boniface or Leao and Pulisic?
When it comes to the dynamic attacking duo, the story is different. Yes, Leao and Pulisic are two of the best Serie A players, and their talent is not even questioned, but Florian Wirtz and Victor Boniface are probably the biggest reason for the recent success of the team coached by Alonso. The Nigerian striker scored 21 goals in 34 games last season, while the German talent scored 18 goals and provided 20 assists last season, and he already scored six goals in the first seven game of the 2024-25 season. We already mentioned the numbers of Pulisic, while Leao only had one goal and four assists in the opening seven goals of the season. Numbers that speak for themselves for this comparison.
Pick: Wirtz and Boniface
Coach
Xabi Alonso or Fonseca?
It’s a bit unfair to compare the work of Xabi Alonso with that of Paulo Fonseca, as the Rossoneri manager was only appointed this summer and started a new cycle at the club. After some initial struggles, it seems that he’s now back on track after winning the last two games against Inter and Lecce, but it’s still too early to judge his work. On the other side, we’ve got one of the best managers around Europe who won the first Bundesliga title in the history of Bayer Leverkusen last season as unbeaten in the tournament.
Pick: Xabi Alonso
How to watch and odds
- Date: Tuesday, October 1 | Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
- Location: BayArena – Leverkusen, Germany
- Watch: Paramount+
- Odds: Bayer Leverkusen -125; Draw +200; AC Milan +320
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