Bundesliga title is close but race is not over yet, warns Leverkusen's Alonso
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The Spaniard said they would not be easing off against Union Berlin on Saturday
BERLIN (Reuters) - Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen are close to securing their first ever league title but coach Xabi Alonso warned on Friday that the race was not yet over despite their 13-point lead with seven games left in the campaign.
The Spaniard, who has led Leverkusen on an unbeaten 40-game streak across all competitions this season with his team still competing for three titles, said they would not be easing off against Union Berlin on Saturday ahead of next week's Europa League quarter-final first leg against West Ham United.
"Our focus is the Bundesliga," Alonso told a press conference. "We have a good chance of winning the title but there are still seven matches to go.
"We will go to Berlin with our best team and hope to take a step that will take us closer to winning the title. We are in a position where we can win it but it is not yet finished."
Leverkusen, whose last trophy was a German Cup win in 1993, are close to securing their first ever Bundesliga crown, having carved out a 13-point lead over second-placed Bayern Munich.
On Wednesday Xabi Alonso's team also reached the German Cup final with a 4-0 demolition of Fortuna Dusseldorf. They face Kaiserslautern in the final on May 25.
Alonso, however, said this was not yet the time to celebrate.
"The fans have a memory and they are patient. They still remember what happened against Unterhaching," he said. Leverkusen had lost the league title in 2000 on the final matchday after a defeat by Unterhaching.
"We want to celebrate when we can celebrate. Now is not the moment to celebrate. It is still early, still April. We are in a good position, we have a (German Cup) final as our last game of the season, but we won't talk much.
"We are not talking about a title but only about our next opponents."
