Berlin: Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso has called on his players to have more patience with ball possession when the Bundesliga champions face Mainz on Tuesday. Leverkusen defeated Borussia Dortmund 3-2 last Friday, but the coach thinks they “didn’t have the best ball control” in that match. “We weren’t patient enough in some moments and played too quickly, which caused us to lose the ball. We have to integrate that back into our game against Mainz and do better,” Alonso said in a news conference on Monday. “If we don’t show up 100% on the pitch tomorrow, we will have problems,” he warned. Leverkusen won’t have injured players Jeanuel Belocian, Amine Adli and Victor Boniface. “Adli will not be able to rejoin the team until the end of January at the earliest, Boniface could return next week, but he still needs enough time to train,” Alonso said. His team is second in the table, four points behind leaders Bayern Munich. (dpa)
