Alejandro Grimaldo: The all-conquering wing-back that is guiding Leverkusen to their first ever Bundesliga title
The 28-year-old left-back is the perfect embodiment of the changes Leverkusen have made on and off the pitch to challenge Bayern Munich this season.
There was certainly a sense of inevitably about Bayer Leverkusen’s late winner against RB Leipzig on Saturday. It was present after the home side blitzed their way to an opening goal seven minutes into the match and was even apparent when they regained the lead just 11 minutes after the break. Marco Rose’s side knew how to land a sucker punch, but they didn’t have the legs to go the full nine rounds.
In stark contrast, Xabi Alonso’s team have quickly become experts in the art of getting the job done before the final whistle is blown. So far this season die Werkself have scored 40% of their goals after the hour mark and 6% in the dying moments of games - only Borussia Dortmund have scored more after the 90th minute this season. Which is perhaps why Leverkusen may be level with Bayern Munich in the number of times they’ve fallen behind in games this season (four) but have bagged two extra points than their title challengers thus far. Small margins tend to add up over the course of a league campaign and could prove vital in deciding where the old salad bowl goes in May.
Why Leverkusen are able to remain so resolute in their game plan in the face of strong opposition is largely due to their multi-pronged attack, which picks and prods at opposing defences until a chink in the armour is found. And while the likes of Victor Boniface, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and even Exequiel Palacios have stole the headlines this season, no players has perhaps added an extra dimension to Leverkusen’s attack and consequently their title credentials quite like Alejandro Grimaldo.
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