Xabi Alonso ‘proud of his team’ despite ‘painful’ Atalanta loss

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso praised his side’s “exceptional” record-breaking unbeaten run but admitted it hurts that it ended in the Europa League final.

The German team has been one of the standout stories of the season, going 51 games without defeat and winning the Bundesliga. However, their quest for European glory was thwarted on Wednesday night with a 3-0 loss to Atalanta at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

This defeat marked their first since May 27 of last year. While Alonso expressed pride in his team’s achievements over the past year, he acknowledged the pain of losing in the Europa League final.

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“Atalanta were better than us and they deserve the trophy,” the former Liverpool midfielder said. “It wasn’t our day. We’ve had a bad night. It hurts that it happened in such an important match.”

He continued, “The normality is not to suffer a first defeat in the 52nd game. It’s exceptional what we achieved and we should be proud. But it’s painful.”