Xabi Alonso is now proud of his team Bayer Leverkusen's competitive match record. "I wasn't interested in it before, but now it makes me happy. I'm proud of it," said Alonso after the 2-1 (1-1) win against FSV Mainz 05. It was the 33rd for the Bundesliga leaders. Play in a row without defeat. No Bundesliga team had ever achieved this before.

FC Bayern set the previous record with 32 games without defeat between December 2019 and September 2020. "I also have to congratulate my players. That's a great achievement," said the Bayer coach. "It's really a pleasure to work with them."

With Leverkusen, Alonso currently has a great chance of becoming German champions for the first time in the history of the factory club. After matchday 23, the leader's lead over runner-up Bayern Munich will be at least eight points. Nevertheless, Alonso remained cautious.

"At some point the moment will come to talk about it. But it's not now," said Alonso. "Let's see how far it goes."