Xabi Alonso passes his Liverpool audition with flying colours as table-topping Bayer Leverkusen run out 3-0 winners against Bayern Munich to stretch lead at the top to five points

Bayer Leverkusen tightened their grip on the Bundesliga top spot with victory Josip Stanisic and Alex Grimaldo scored before Jeremie Frimpong's late effort CHRIS SUTTON: Erik ten Hag is still on trial. He needs more than gradual improvement this season to keep his job - It's All Kicking Off podcast 

In that final moment, as things became desperate, Xabi Alonso and Harry Kane made the same reaction, rocking sharply backwards with apprehension.

Kane was in possession on the edge of Leverkusen’s area, Alonso was stood in his technical area unable to do anymore. But England’s captain over-hit his pass, the BayArena erupted and the man who might just be Jurgen Klopp’s successor had his biggest moment as a manager.

This night could not have been more wildly contrasting. Where everything went wrong for Kane and his ramshackle Bayern Munich team, Bayer Leverkusen were breathtaking, executing the plan Alonso had devised so perfectly that they dismantled Germany’s perennially champions.

By the end, it was 3-0 but it could have been double that scoreline. Leverkusen ran through Munich like a bolt of lightning, scorching them and leaving them smouldering. Alonso’s fingerprints were all over it from start to finish. No wonder he is favourite to be next Liverpool’s next manager.

What a test this was for them. Derided by rivals with the moniker ‘Neverkusen’, owing to a litany of failures down the years, there wouldn’t have been shock had they stumbled against FC Hollywood but the opposite was true: Bayern were the team riddled with anxiety.

Bayer Leverkusen moved five points clear of Bayern Munich after an impressive 3-0 victory

Jeremie Frimpong added gloss to the scoreline after thumping home an audaucious effort

Xabi Alonso’s side remain in pole position to win the Bundesliga after beating their title rivals

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Take Eric Dier: his first three actions were two long balls that careered out of play and a mis-control that almost led to him being caught in possession. He wasn’t alone. Manuel Neuer, the totem of this club, was similarly shaky.

But don’t they say teams reflect the character of their managers? You couldn’t help but make a comparison between Thomas Tuchel, who leapt about and manically grabbed his baseball cap in a manner that reminded you of Basil Fawlty before an impending calamity.

Alonso, on the other hand, exuded cool, sartorially and professionally. Yes, there was a burning intensity – he let rip at Bayern’s Alexsandar Pavlovic when the midfielder threw himself to the ground theatrically – but he was always in control. So were his team.

Leverkusen’s football in the first period was, in moments, breathtaking – short, rat-a-tat-tat passes pinging triangularly in between black shirts. One moment it would seem they were boxed, the next acres of space had opened up and they were away. This, be sure, was their coach’s influence.

Such nimble play provided the avenue for the opening goal. Leverkusen went thrillingly back to front in the 18th minute, forcing Dayot Upamecano to make a desperate clearance. But he succeeded only in finding a touch and from the resulting throw-in, the hosts took the lead.

Bayern dithered, Robert Andrich charged down the left and fizzed a ball across the six-yard box that demanded a finishing touch. Arriving at the back post unnoticed, Josip Stanisic did just that. The Croatia right-back refused to celebrate – he’s on loan from Bayern – but he was the only who didn’t.

‘If it was down to me, the rules (when loaned players can’t face their parent club) would be the same as they are in England,’ Tuchel hissed, incredulous that his team were damaged by one of their own.

Talisman Harry Kane was helpless to prevent Bayern from falling to a costly defeat on the road

Josip Stanisic made the breakthrough but refused to celebrate against his parent club

A huge goal and a huge moment. There is a long way to go in this race but Leverkusen look equipped for the challenge. They are fresh and vibrant, the antithesis of Bayern, who resembled a stale loaf. Kane would have imagined stamping his authority all over this fixture but he barely got a touch.

At one point in the second period, he tried to impart some instructions but nobody was listening. A penny for his thoughts when, on the day Tottenham moved back into the top four, he saw the medal he craves so desperately slide a little further from his reach.

By that point, Leverkusen had doubled their lead and how beautifully they did it. Down the left they went again, Nathan Tella inviting Alejandro Grimaldo to dash forward, the Spaniard giving the ball back to the young Nigerian before bursting into the area to the area: one-two, one-two, 2-0.

Grimaldo’s finish was glorious, speared high into a tight angle that Neuer couldn’t protect. More bedlam. Up in the stands, Rudi Voeller – a Leverkusen legend and one of the German greats – sat shaking his head, seemingly unable to comprehend what was happening.

Stanisic (left) arrived at the back post to thump home a cross and raised his hands to apologise

Alex Grimaldo doubled Leverkusen’s lead after steaming in at the far post and finding the net

Alonso, the heavy favourite for the Liverpool hot seat, celebrated with his players at full-time

He could believe everything he was seeing, all right. Europe’s longest unbeaten run – 31 games –continues and the gloss was applied when Jeremie Frimpong scored from an improbable angle, with Neuer stranded up the other end of the field.

‘This isn’t the biggest win of the season,’ Alonso insisted. ‘It’s just another three points and gets harder from here. We have to be ready.’

All over the continent, though, they are watching what is building. And nobody will be watching more closely than the natives of Merseyside.