LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Get ready for games four and five this season in one of the most dynamic rivalries in European soccer.
Bayer Leverkusen heads to Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday hoping to derail an otherwise successful first season for Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.
“Of course this game’s a big one, it’s intense when we play each other,” Leverkusen wing back Jeremie Frimpong told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
Leverkusen and Bayern have already met three times this season. Leverkusen knocked Bayern out of the German Cup but two draws in the Bundesliga helped Bayern move closer to recovering the Bundesliga title that Leverkusen won last season in a major upset.
Less than three weeks have passed since their last encounter, a tense 0-0 draw in which Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen shut Bayern's forwards out of the game and had plenty of chances to score but couldn't convert them.
Might Frimpong and his teammates be sick of playing Bayern? Not at all, he insists.
“It’s Champions League, so we knew we were going to get someone difficult, and of course it’s nice that it’s a German team again, Bayern Munich again. So everyone’s excited," Frimpong said.
Since he took over as Leverkusen coach two and a half years ago, Alonso has turned a struggling team into champions with a reputation for last-minute goals and being hard to beat.
Alonso's personal record against Bayern is one that few coaches can boast — three wins and three draws for a total six games unbeaten in all competitions. Some of the coach's best moments in charge have come with tactical surprises against Bayern in big games.
Still, Frimpong isn't putting much faith in that unbeaten streak.
“It’s nice to say, but for me personally, it’s nothing," Frimpong said. “They could beat us and then it’s like, ‘Oh.'”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
James Ellingworth, The Associated Press
