As a former Bayer professional, Joel Pohjanpalo is keeping his fingers crossed for his former club in the title race. But it’s not just because of his emotional attachment to Leverkusen that he sees good chances for the Werksklub, which he raved about after Bayer 04’s 4:1 victory in the test against his FC Venice
It was a one-sided affair. Bayer 04’s 4:1 win against Serie B runners-up FC Venezia was a clear difference in class. The Bundesliga leaders dominated the Italians at will, demonstrating the highest level of skill and more than deserved the win. The short Christmas break clearly did nothing to dampen the flow and enthusiasm of Xabi Alonso’s team.
“That’s incredibly good “
And so Joel Pohjanpalo went into raptures about the quality of his former club after the Bundesliga club’s first and only test match ahead of Leverkusen’s re-start at FC Augsburg on Saturday. “Bayer are one of the top teams in the world, for sure,” said the Finnish international, “you can see that on the pitch, how they build up the game, what they do – it’s unbelievably good. “
The center forward had already been highly impressed in the fall after watching Leverkusen’s 4-0 win over Union Berlin as a spectator in the Bay-Arena and singing the praises of the Werkself, particularly because of their extremely good counter-pressing. Sunday’s 90 minutes did nothing to change his assessment. As a result, he rates Bayer 04 as a hot title contender
“If they carry on like this, anything is possible “
“It looks great at the moment,” said the 29-year-old about Leverkusen’s chances of winning the German title. Pohjanpalo believes Bayer are well equipped for a successful clash with FC Bayern Munich in many respects. “They play very compactly. The build-up play – it’s amazing how good it is,” said the Finn, naming two key qualities of Xabi Alonso’s team and adding: “The individual quality of the players is very, very good. Not just the starting eleven, but also every other player. The squad is big enough. If they carry on like this and have a bit of luck, anything is possible.”
Indeed it is. The Bundesliga leaders proved in the test match that the automatisms are so well-rehearsed that they cannot be overridden so easily. After all, the four Africa Cup players Victor Boniface, Edmond Tapsoba, Odilon Kossounou and Amine Adli were missing against Venice. The first three have been the mainstays of the Bundesliga so far this season. However, their absence was not noticeable in the Werkself’s game against a team that was not a real benchmark. It was only after the hour mark, when Xabi Alonso only had three players from the starting eleven on the pitch following a six-man substitution, that the level dropped noticeably
“I hope Bayer win the title and not Bayern “
Bayer were ready for the race for first place, in which Pohjanpalo is keeping his fingers crossed for his former club. And he is certain that this is not just the case for Bayer 04 fans. “I hope Bayer win the title and not Bayern,” he says, “I think the whole of Germany is behind Leverkusen – for the first time. “
