How do you follow up an historic upset? That’s the question facing Xabi Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen as they seek to prove they belong among European soccer’s top teams after ending Bayern Munich’s 11-year reign in the German league last season.

Bayer Leverkusen played a near-perfect game in their 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich on Saturday and the only thing missing was a goal to crown that "fantastic" performance, said coach Xabi Alonso.

Alonso admitted even he was surprised how well his team's tactics worked against a Bayern Munich team which was rendered almost toothless. “We didn’t expect to be so dominant,” Alonso said. The only problem was,