Augsburg really tried to put up a good fight to get points against Leverkusen in that match, but unfortunately Augsburg had to give up because Leverkusen, who kept trying to look for opportunities, finally managed to score a goal and win. It was an expected victory for Leverkusen considering that Augsburg looked busy defending completely, but it is true that Leverkusen took a long time to overthrow Augsburg who were playing at home.
This season, Leverkusen is a team that is unbeaten in the Bundesliga in the last 17 matches. Right now Leverkusen has created a 4 point gap with Bayern Munich, but considering that Bayern Munich has one game in hand, Bayern Munich will probably only be 1 point behind Leverkusen. The next match is difficult for Leverkusen, while Bayern Munich has an easy match against Bremen.
To be honest i think that match was one of their hardest this season and Xabi Alonso would had really cracked his brains to make sure he gets 3 points from the game, if you observed very well you'll see that they were very dominant and passive but luck wasn't on their side when it comes to finding the back of the net. It took them about 24 shots with 6 on target just to score a lucky goal that gave them the 3 points, Augsburg would had exposed their wickness if they had won or drawn Leverkusen, but the constant pressure from Leverkusen caused them to give up at last.
I think Leverkusen should use this game as an eye opener for the outcome of their upcoming fixtures if they don't cover some of their errors, other teams might begin to come up with a pattern of beating them and ending the unbeaten record they've kept this season. Leipzig is a team they shouldn't take chances with, cause they could be more dangerous than Augsburg.
The future challenge faced by Leverkusen when facing Leipzig is the absence of several of their key players, Xabi Alonso lost five players due to injury and is strengthening the national team. The match against Leipzig also looks like it will be tough for them, but I think Xabi will emphasize his players to score quickly, because we know Leipzig is tougher than Augsburg, hoping they let their guard down in the last minute is not a good strategy, and I feel that in the match Leverkusen yesterday Xabi fleet was lucky to secure full points. Leipzig is of course very ambitious to break Leverkusen unbeaten record, especially since they will have the ambition to avenge the first leg.
Acting as host certainly gives Leipzig a good sense of confidence, because it gets full support from its own supporters. However, in their previous match Leipzig lost points after being beaten by Eintracht Frankfurt, if Xabi can explore their weaknesses like Frankfurt did, I think Leverkusen will re-affirm their position in the standings. Leipzig will certainly try their best to maintain their position in the top four of the standings, because Dortmund has the potential to overtake them because they are only 3 points behind at the moment. Personally I have a tendency that Leverkusen will win the match, but we'll see how the match ends.
In the next five matches, Leverkusen will face its toughest challenge. If Xabi can make his squad stable and consistent then their chances of winning a trophy will be even greater. Maybe it wouldn't be wrong to call the January to February period a reference for Leverkusen peak performance, I think Xabi and his fleet can conquer the various challenges that lie ahead. In the end, Laverkusen consistency has put pressure on Bayern Munchen for a long time, half of the season has passed for Bayern with Laverkusen leading the standings. The competition will get hotter when Bayern has finished the postponed match against Union Berlin, because Tuchel fleet has the opportunity to cut the gap with Leverkusen to 1 point.