Matej Kovar had a weak day in the 1:4 defeat at Arsenal FC. Coach Xabi Alonso no longer has to ask himself whether the young Czech could replace regular goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky this season.
Didn’t look good against Arsenal on several occasions: Matej Kovar. IMAGO/Action Plus
At the training camp in Donaueschingen, Xabi Alonso did not want to commit himself to who Leverkusen’s number 1 would be in the coming season or how much playing time talent Matej Kovar (24), who was Bayer’s cup keeper both nationally and internationally last season, would get. There are no rules yet, the coach explained at the time.
The Basque emphasized that he has a lot of respect for both keepers. “For me it was good that Matej had a progressive development in his first season. He played quite a lot of games, had an important role and showed a good level,” praised Xabi Alonso, but also emphasized: “But also Lukas. He was very good, very stable and very consistent in his performance.”
Xabi Alonso wants to bet on both
The 42-year-old conveyed the message that everything was open in the goalkeeper question, saying: “Both are at a good level. That’s good for me. Because I can rely on both. And my idea is to rely on both.”
Based on the impressions from Wednesday evening, the answer to the question of who is the actual number 1 in Leverkusen’s goal can only be Hradecky. Kovar made a bad mistake with his foot in the 1:4 defeat at Arsenal before the 0:2 when he passed to Florian Wirtz far too riskily, even though the Gunners had blocked him about 25 meters from the Leverkusen goal. Arsenal skilfully exploited the logical loss of the ball.
The difference in performance is obvious
And the Czech international did not look good when Gabriel Jesus scored the 3-0, with a well-placed but not sharp low shot from 18 metres, and in the 21st minute he also caused a superfluous corner with an unorthodox and unsuccessful punch save at the near post.
Coupled with the impressions from the previous season, when Kovar showed some solid and good performances, but repeatedly showed weaknesses, especially in the bigger matches in the cup quarter-finals against Stuttgart (3:2), as well as in the Europa League against West Ham United (1:1) and AS Roma (2:0), the difference in performance is obvious.
Kovar only has the DFB Cup left
It would be incomprehensible by objective standards that Kovar would again be number 1 in both cup competitions. In the Champions League, Bayer will have to rely on its strongest goalkeeper.
There is now much to suggest that Hradecky, strictly based on performance, will act as Leverkusen’s number 1 in both the league and the Champions League, while Kovar will remain in the DFB Cup.
2024-08-07 20:10:40
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