Liverpool manager frontrunner is two games away from incredible historic feat after late win

The current frontrunner for Jurgen Klopp's job, Xabi Alonso, is now just two games away from matching a historic German feat after his side's late win over Stuttgart.

In what was the quarter-finals of the German cup (DFB-Pokal) his side came from a goal and 2-1 down to finally edge out the in-form side in the 90th minute thanks to a late strike from defender Jonathan Tah. Goals from Robert Andrich and Amine Adli helped to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 30 games.

This 30-game run has seen 26 wins and four draws across the league, cup and Europa League and now they sit just two games away from matching Bayern Munich's German record of 32 games unbeaten. And guess who's next up in the league? Yes, Bayern Munich on Saturday.

Thomas Tuchel's side sit just two points behind Alonso's high-flyers and despite people making claims they are struggling to retain their typically-routine league title, Bayern under Tuchel has more points after 20 games than any of Pep's seasons at Bayern after the same amount of games. The simple fact is that Alonso is masterminding an incredible campaign.

Another key figure is that Leverkusen’s 90th minute winner against Stuttgart tonight is a third 90th minute winner in 5 games to stay unbeaten in 30 games - late goals have certainly been a regular occurrence under Klopp and it's another tick in the box for Alonso. If they can avoid defeat against Bayern at home in what is a huge clash at the top of the table, they then face 10th-place Heidenheim away to match the record and then Mainz at home to set their own record.

Any successes he experiences will only make his case for being Klopp's replacement stronger and triumphing over the Reds in the Europa League may even feel like a 'passing of the torch moment' should the two sides meet in Europe later this season. However, even without the Liverpool links, Alonso has built a fantastic football side that have quality, flair, structure and a measure of mental toughness that has propelled them into being unbeaten after five months of the season.