Xabi Alonso parades the Supercup in front of the Leverkusen fans. - © DFL/Getty Images/Christian Kaspar-Bartke

bundesliga

Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso delighted, Stuttgart's Undav disappointed

19.08.2024

Xabi Alonso expressed his delight at the manner his ten-man Bayer 04 side managed to battle back against VfB Stuttgart in Saturday's Supercup at the BayArena. For VfB's Deniz Undav, however, frustration was the overriding emotion.

bundesliga.com rounds up the reaction following a dramatic night at the BayArena.

Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen coach: "What we did at the end of the game with 10 players and scoring the late equaliser, we showed once again how big our spirit is. I'm really happy that we have started the season like this. After the red card, the game was different. Even though we went 2-1 down in the second half, we were patient and planned to only go full throttle and press for the last 15 minutes. We did that brilliantly, the team was great."

Deniz Undav, Stuttgart striker and Man of the Match: "I'm very frustrated. First of all, thanks to the fans who voted for me as player of the match, but I'm very frustrated. We had the chance to win the game, but out of nowhere we make small mistakes against Leverkusen and they score. And the penalty shootout is then pure luck. We also practiced penalty shootouts this week and that was good, but it didn't work. When you're 2-1 up and you're one man up, you have to win."

Watch: Undav reacts to Supercup defeat

Lukáš Hrádecký: Leverkusen captain: "Both teams wanted to win, Stuttgart played an outstanding game. Football is fun again! We won it to continue where we left off. It's good to see that we can come back just like we did last season."

Sebastian Hoeneß, Stuttgart coach: "We were once again very close to beating Leverkusen. Unfortunately, we were defeated in the penalty shootout. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm very satisfied for the most part. We didn't put up the performances we wanted during pre-season, we didn't know where we stood. But today we proved what we can do."