Alonso defends his decision to sub off debutant Buendía | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen introduced recent signings Emiliano Buendía and Mario Hermoso to Bundesliga football when they beat Hoffenheim 3-1 on Sunday. However, the Argentine attacker will be disappointed by how his first appearance abruptly ended.

Having replaced injured Nathan Tella in the 42nd minute, Buendía nearly scored with his first shot on target right after the break. But, when Leverkusen were reduced to ten men, Xabi Alonso went for the harsh decision of subbing off the substitute to consolidate his defensive unit.

Unlike Mike Tullberg’s statements on Karim Adeyemi a day earlier, the Spanish coach admitted it was purely a tactical decision. “It’s not a nice thing to take him off only 30 minutes after his introduction,” Alonso says. “But, unfortunately, that was the right thing to do after the red card”.

Alonso shared his excitement with his January reinforcements after their first Bundesliga experience. “Buendía linked up well with our attackers. In particular, he was intelligent between the lines. I’m also happy with Hermoso’s performance after coming on.” he says about the recruitments from Aston Villa and AS Roma.

On Wednesday, Leverkusen will face the in-form Bundesliga 2. side Köln in the quarter-final of DFB Pokal.