I watched Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen and one moment proved he should replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool
Just over 30,000 spectators crammed into the BayArena to see whether Bayer Leverkusen could retain their four-point gap at the Bundesliga on Saturday evening, while a few thousand more watched on from Liverpool.
Xabi Alonso may be the choice of the heart when it comes to replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield but he must also be the choice of the head. Liverpool have a history of appointing former players as managers, to varying success.
Kenny Dalglish and Bob Paisley are by far the most successful of them and it isn’t lost on Klopp how much of a privilege it is for him, an ‘honorary scouser’, to be listed alongside the duo in the pantheon of Boot Room greats.
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Paisley followed Bill Shankly, Ronnie Moran (as caretaker) and Graeme Souness followed Dalglish before Roy Evans took over. Alonso would be the first non-British former player to take to the helm and would have just as great an act to follow as Paisley did.
No one would expect the same level of success the Durham-born icon managed to achieve with Liverpool but the Basque Alonso is showing that he is not just a mere heartthrob consideration.
Leverkusen played out a goalless draw with near neighbours Borussia Monchengladbach this weekend and so with Bayern Munich winning earlier in the day, their lead at the top of the table is now reduced to two points.
But that is far from telling the full story. Leverkusen, who remain undefeated, missed a host of glorious opportunities and had a number of players unavailable either through injury or international duty.
Encouragingly, there were Klopp-like elements in the side’s play. Despite a number of rotations - including in goal -
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