How Emiliano Buendia and Mario Hermoso are helping Bayer Leverkusen | OneFootball

Emiliano Buendia and Mario Hermoso have already made their Bayer Leverkusen debuts, just days after signing for the Bundesliga champions. Speaking ahead of their DFB Pokal clash against local rivals FC Köln, Xabi Alonso discussed how the duo are already helping.

“From the first minute, we had the feeling that he [Buendia] would help us,” said Alonso, when referring to replacing the injured Nathan Tella. Hermoso – who played 22 minutes at the weekend – also has a wealth of experience. “Mario also has this experience and knowledge of the game, so you don’t have to explain so much what they have to do. They already know what happens on the pitch, they know our system and ideas,” added Alonso.

When discussing his philosophy to Bayer’s new signings, Alonso added that “after two good and important meetings, everything was fine.” Also given Leverkusen’s relatively young squad, and games coming almost every three-to-four days, they needed players with experience.

“In winter there is no time to train,” added Alonso. “We need players with experience who have an impact almost immediately so that they can help us from the first minute.”

Bayer Leverkusen host FC Köln in the DFB Pokal quarter-final tonight before games against Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich in the forthcoming weeks.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder