The good thing is they have no duty to defend their record. The bad thing is they are crushed by their first loss since last season.
Is it a duty to defend the unbeaten record? I think it is not a duty. It is not a must to repeat the unbeaten record in the last season. I'm very sure Xabi Alonso never tries to defend it because it is something really difficult to do. But I'm surprised that Leverkusen is quite fast to lose the points, they lost 3 points in matchday 2. Losing points will be always bad, they looked unconvincingly to win again the league title.
But i take it more positively, they can enjoy the upcoming game without a target to defend their record. It helps them to enjoy the game better than when they have a burden to defend their record.
Even they won the match, they will always target to win every single match. There will be no change with Leverkusen target, they must expect to win every match. They actually too enjoy the match, they made too many opportunities. Unfortunately Leverkusen show infective match, they wasted too many chances of scoring goals.
Leipzig lacked consistency. But, they destroyed Leverkusen's unbeaten record. So, they must be seen as a strong team.
Leipzig always finished the season in the top 4 (UCL zone). I don't think this team is lack of consistency. Sure Leipzig is a strong team in Bundesliga, it is actually not very surprising to see Leipzig beating Leverkusen.