Alonso full of praise for Wirtz after man-of-the-match performance against Salzburg

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso was particularly pleased with the performance of Florian Wirtz during his side’s 5-0 victory over RB Salzburg.

The Germany international scored two goals in the match and was named player of the match for the fourth time in five games in the Champions League this season.

The result and performance came at an opportune time for Leverkusen, who were off the back of a 4-0 defeat to Liverpool and 1-1 draw at Brest.

Following the win, they currently occupy fifth in the 36-team league, while Wirtz is equal-second in the top goalscorers with five goals.

“We want to help Florian Wirtz, we know how different he is for us. We have to find him at the right moments. We need to have a good structure to help him. This competition is for him, he is a Champions League player,” Alonso told reporters.

“Hopefully we can go through to the next round. For Florian, he wants to have a big game. A big game is the best thing for him.”

Alonso is hoping that his side can use the performance on Tuesday to pick up in the Bundesliga, where they are fourth despite having won just one of their last four matches.

Having won the domestic double last term though, he is aware there is still room for improvement in their performance.

“We did very well against Salzburg today. We want to build on that against Union [Berlin] on Saturday and maintain the level we have set ourselves,” said Alonso.

“There are still ups and downs. We weren’t great, but we weren’t very bad. But I think there’s still room for improvement. We can do better,” he said.