Leverkusen roll on but more success could impact celebration plans

Bayer Leverkusen are further closing in on a maiden Bundesliga title but may have a hard time celebrating in style if it becomes reality because they could become a victim of their own vast success.

Bayer beat Wolfsburg 2-0 on Sunday to retain a 10-point lead over Bayern Munich with nine matchdays left, and their unbeaten record all season reached 36 games in all competitions.

Xabi Alonso's men were undeterred by Bayern's 8-1 thrashing of Mainz the previous day, and keeping their feet on the ground as much as possible.

"We deserve to be where we are because we are only looking at ourselves. And as long as we just continue doing our job the other results don't interest us," playmaker Granit Xhaka said.

"The fewer games there are, the better it is for us."

Asked when he would consider talking about the title, Alonso simply said: "April."

If Bayer keep their current advantage over Bayern, the title would come on matchday 31 which is set for April 26-28 and in which they host third-placed VfB Stuttgart.

But celebrations could be kept to a minimum because they may be facing a Europa League semi-final first leg match a few days later on May 2.

Bayer will reach the quarter-finals on Thursday if they defeat Qarabag at home, after drawing 2-2 in Azerbaijan last week.

Bayer are also in the German Cup semi-finals, and a title treble is not out of question given their long unbeaten run.

As a result, they could be playing two finals within eight days after the final Bundesliga matchday May 18, the Europa League finale in Dublin on May 22 and the German Cup final in Berlin on May 25.

Leverkusen will hope to celebrate this term and avoid a repeat of the scenes from 22 years ago when they squandered a five-point Bundesliga lead on the last three matchdays, and then also lost the German Cup and Champions League finals.

Should they reach the Europa League quarters this could also open up a scenario that they could celebrate the Bundesliga title without playing as they would most like have four more Sunday fixtures, with two already confirmed.

Bayern would not necessarily play the same day but a day earlier, especially if they go far in the Champions League, and any slip-up could hand the trophy to Leverkusen.

On the other hand, Bayern can put pressure on Leverkusen with earlier games by reducing the gap, and their midfielder Leon Goretzka said that "we must be there should Leverkusen stumble."

But the weekend showed that Leverkusen appear undeterred, as Alonso said: "We know what we have to do. We have a clear idea and a clear plan."