'Boniface was playing on the left wing' - Newcastle United great questions Alonso's tactics v Liverpool

Legendary Newcastle United goalkeeper and retired Republic of Ireland international Shay Given has questioned Xabi Alonso's tactics during the UEFA Champions League clash between Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield on Tuesday night.

The tactics seemed to be working for the German Bundesliga champions as they did not concede in the first half.

After neutralizing the Premier League side for an hour, Bayer Leverkusen suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat, with Luis Díaz opening and closing the scoring, and Cody Gakpo getting on the scoresheet.

Alonso made some tactical adjustments by overloading the midfield and Victor Boniface dropping to the wing.

The Spanish football tactician surprised the Reds with his lineup, with the central midfielders Granit Xhaka, Exequiel Palacios and Aleix García quickly closing the spaces in the first half.

In the last thirty minutes, Bayer Leverkusen had difficulty handling Liverpool's man-marking and the intense pace of the match.

Given criticized Alonso's decision to deploy Boniface as a left winger, leaving his team without a recognized center forward. 

Speaking to Premier Sports Ireland, Given stated: "I was at the Europa League final at the end of the season in Dublin, they were so disappointing, they got bullied against Atalanta in the final.

"I don't know, just very poor in the final third. They did play out from the back and through the thirds but Boniface at times was playing on the left wing. 

"You want him to be more of a target man, you want to bring some sort of injection to the attack."

Boniface has scored just once in the UEFA Champions League, his match-winning goal against AC Milan on matchday two.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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