Tella eyes Bayern slip

Bayer Leverkusen forward Nathan Tella remains optimistic that the reigning German champions can retain the Bundesliga title in the 2024/25 season despite trailing Bayern Munich by eight points, NewsNGR Sports Extra reports.

With 10 games remaining, Leverkusen have amassed 53 points and are still miles behind their rivals who lead the pack with 61 points.

Tella enjoyed a successful debut campaign last term as Bayer won their first Bundesliga title, having previously finished as runners-up on five occasions.

Despite the wide gap between them and their rivals this season, the Nigerian forward believes the title race is far from over.

“Anything is possible,” Tella said after Bayer’s 4-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

“I’ve often seen teams collapse at the end. If we just focus on what we can do, there is no reason why we can’t increase the pressure further.”

Bayer Leverkusen drew 0-0 with Bayern Munich on February 15 before Vincent Kompany’s side picked up wins against Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

Although a comfortable win against Eintracht, it was a different story against VfB, who held the Rekordmeister to a level game heading into the break. Defensive errors ultimately cost Stuttgart taking any points from Bayern, who have upcoming games against Union Berlin, St. Pauli and Augsburg.

Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen meanwhile must keep winning and hope that Bayern drop points. After their 4-1 win at Eintracht, they host Werder Bremen at the weekend before going to Stuttgart.

Between match-day 25 in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen will face each other in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League as well.

Speaking on the tie, Tella said, “Everyone is looking forward to it,” before discussing his form after failing to break into the starting lineup at the beginning of the season. “I’m happy about all the games I get to play,” Tella added.

“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t play much and now I’m getting more minutes in the team. I’m happy with myself and that the team is getting good results.”