Michail Antonio shares what he noticed about Liverpool linked Xabi Alonso after playing Bayer Leverkusen in friendly

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Xabi Alonso seems to be the favourite candidate to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. With his close affiliation to the club, and the work he has done at Bayer Leverkusen – it makes sense why.

Alonso has always been adored by Liverpool supporters. Even after leaving the club to join Real Madrid – he has maintained a cult status. And fans still talk fondly of the memories he made while playing at Anfield.

As a manager, Alonso has his own unique style and identity already. He may only have a year and a half experience at the top level coaching Leverkusen – but he’s been learning the ins and outs of coaching for years before that. He worked at Real Madrid’s academy as a youth coach, then at Real Sociedad’s B team for several years. During his last few years as a player at Bayern Munich, he also learned a lot from Pep Guardiola.

All of that have helped him create his own original style. A style that is working really well right now. And Michail Antonio can attest to that.

Michail Antonio on Xabi Alonso

Before the start of the season, Alonso’s Leverkusen went up against Antonio’s West Ham United in a friendly match during pre-season. Alonso’s side absolutely annihilated West Ham in that game, winning by four goals to nil.

Speaking on The Players Channel podcast, Antonio has now reflected back on that experience, and explained just why Alonso’s playing style was ‘ridiculous’ to play against.

“We played them in the summer and the football they played was ridiculous,” Antonio said.

“We had a crisis meeting after! We were like they should never have battered us 4-0. We were like nah, we can’t start this. This was the game just before we started the Premier League and we were like this is wrong. It was two 10’s in behind. The football they were playing was quality. I’m just happy it wasn’t just us!”

This just simply makes us more excited for Alonso ball. West Ham United are a strong side, and the fact that Alonso was able to dominate them speaks volumes of his ability as a coach.

It is no surprise he has managed to 19 games unbeaten in the Bundesliga. And that is why the former Liverpool man is the perfect man to takeover Klopp’s role this summer.