Xhaka on Leverkusen's win over Mainz: "It wasn't our best game"
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka has reflected critically on how 'Die Werkself' performed against Mainz.
Granit Xhaka has admitted Bayer Leverkusen weren't at their best in Friday's 2-1 win over Mainz in the Bundesliga.
Xhaka himself opened the scoring with a shot from distance early on. Dominik Kohr levelled the scoreline before Robert Andrich scored the winner in the 68th minute after a mistake from Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner.
"It wasn't our best game. We gave the ball away too easily and didn't play with enough precision," Granit Xhaka told Kicker, analyzing the 90 minutes before going on to point out what ultimately counted:
"After 34 games, nobody asks how we played on matchday 23. We know we can play better. So who cares?"
With the win, Leverkusen extended their lead to Bayern Munich to 11 points ahead of the German champions' clash with RB Leipzig on Saturday.
"There's nothing better than having a lead. It has nothing to do with pressure. We've always been under pressure from the first matchday until today. We know it's not going to get any easier," said Xhaka.
"The way I see it, we have something to lose. Because it's not a given that you're eight points ahead of second place," explained the 31-year-old.
"If we're at the top, we want to stay there. But: We'll calculate the score at the end."