MADRID, 15 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Girona and Bayer Leverkusen, leaders of LaLiga EA Sports and the Bundesliga, are being the two big surprises of the season, and after 13 and 11 games respectively, they are being able to compete with European giants such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético of Madrid or Bayern Munich, all through happy and offensive football, commanded from the bench by two young Spanish coaches such as Míchel and Xabi Alonso.
The start of the season in the five major European leagues has brought with it two pleasant surprises in the form of leadership. Both LaLiga EA Sports and the Bundesliga, at this point in the season, when the first third of the competition has been completed, are led by two teams that do not know what it is to be champions: Girona and Bayer Leverkusen. In addition, both have made historic starts in their respective leagues, fighting head-to-head against European champions such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Both teams have several points in common. One of the most important is on the bench, where both ‘Gironís’ and Germans are led by two young Spanish coaches whose premise is to win by being the protagonist in the matches: Míchel and Xabi Alonso. Game that is translating into results. On the one hand, Girona has 34 of the 39 that have been played in the League, while Leverkusen has 31 points of the 33 that have been at stake.
In the case of the Catalan team, they have only scored points in the first 13 days of competition against Real Sociedad, against whom they tied at the Reale Arena on matchday 1, and Real Madrid, the only team that has managed to beat them so far this year (0-3). Their domestic start is the 5th best of any team in the history of the competition, and the best of a team other than Real Madrid or Barça at this point.
Bayer Leverkusen, for its part, has only left points in its visit to the Allianz Arena, where it drew 1-1 against the almighty Bayern, counting the rest of the games as a victory. A streak that has served to equal the best start in the history of the Bundesliga, which until now was held alone by the Bavarian team led by Pep Guardiola in the 2015-16 season, which would end up winning the league with 88 points.
BRILLIANT AND VARIED AT THE OFFENSIVE LEVEL
In terms of goalscorers, both Girona and Leverkusen are having a superlative performance so far. Both are tremendously offensive teams and this is reflected in their scoring numbers. Xabi Alonso’s team is the second of the five major leagues that has scored the most goals so far this season with 34 goals, while Míchel’s team, in addition to being the highest scoring team in LaLiga EA Sports, is the 4th highest scorer of the major European leagues with 31 goals.
Another aspect in which there are similarities between Germans and Catalans is the variety of their scorers. Both Leverkusen and Girona have involved 11 different field players in the goal, ranking 4th in the five major leagues, only surpassed by FC Barcelona (15), Arsenal (13) and Athletic Club (12). They also share numbers in great chances created so far in the competition, although the balance tips slightly in favor of Xabi Alonso’s team, 47 to 46.
Regarding the history of both teams, both the team from the eastern bank of the Rhine and the Catalan team have recently suffered sporting problems. In the case of Bayer, at this point last season, the team already led by Xabi Alonso was with 9 points, only 2 above relegation, the same distance that Míchel’s team had with Celta at the end of matchday 13 of the League 22-23, second to last in the table and, at that time, the one that marked the relegation places.
Finally, in terms of their game idea, the two teams opt for an attack that enhances verticality and depth on the wings, with long-distance wingers such as Grimaldo, Frimpong and Nathan Tella, in the case of Leverkusen, and Arnau Martínez, Miguel Gutierrez and Yan Couto, in Girona. All of this, supported by high quality players in the final third of the field such as Wirzt and Hoffman (Bayer Leverkusen) or Sávio and Tsygankov (Girona), who provide balls to their goal men, Boniface (Leverkusen) and Dovbyk (Girona), both authors of 7 goals in the league.
Xabi Alonso and Míchel, the two directors of the best-oiled machines in this 2023-24 season so far, have in common their short experience on the bench, and their nationality, Spanish. Who knows if in the coming seasons they will be sitting on some of the best benches in Europe fighting for big titles. Now, their goal is to continue exciting two fans who dream of winning titles that are not yet in their showcases.