Granit Xhaka had the entire Bayer Leverkusen bench fooled, including manager Xabi Alonso, with a fake injury celebration against Mainz.
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Xhaka fooled Leverkusen bench with celebrationScored a stunning goal against MainzLeverkusen extended their lead over Bayern to 11 pointsWHAT HAPPENED?
The former Arsenal midfielder opened the scoring for his team in the third minute against Mainz with a stunning strike from the edge of the box. After breaking the deadlock, Xhaka was seen clutching his hamstring. Alonso and the entire Bayer Leverkusen bench had worried looks on their faces, but the former Arsenal star then perked up and performed a dance to show he was actually still fine physically, prompting a huge collective sigh of relief.
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Four minutes after the Swiss midfielder scored the opening goal, Dominik Kohr equalised for Mainz, but the hosts then restored their lead in the 68th minute as Robert Andrich netted the winning goal for the Bundesliga leaders. With the win on Friday, Alonso's side have now extended their lead over Bayern Munich to 11 points at the top of the table.
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR BAYER LEVERKUSEN?
Leverkusen, who remain unbeaten in the league, will be next seen in action on March 3 when they take on FC Koln in another Bundesliga fixture. Alonso is winning plaudits across Europe for the great job he's doing at Bay Arena, and has been linked with the top job at both Bayern and Liverpool.