2024-08-24 01:16:56
Bayer Leverkusen trembled into the new Bundesliga season with a win. But the champions had to worry for a long time.
A furious start to the new Bundesliga season. With an ending that was surprising. Champions Bayer Leverkusen stumbled – and then won 3:2 at Borussia Mönchengladbach in a dramatic final phase. Florian Wirtz became the match winner in the last second with his follow-up shot after a missed penalty (90th+10).
Leverkusen took the lead with a dream goal by Granit Xhaka (12th minute), which Florian Wirtz was able to extend in the 38th minute. The German champions played a strong first half, but had clear difficulties after the break. This may also have been due to the fact that the game had to be stopped for several minutes after the restart because Gladbach fans set off pyrotechnics and filled the entire stadium with smoke.
When the game resumed, Nico Elvedi (59th) scored to make it 1:2. Then in the 85th minute, the equalizer came: new signing Tim Kleindienst (from Heidenheim) netted a pass from Kevin Stöger. In the 42nd minute, Kleindienst had also scored, but referee Robert Schröder disallowed the goal because of a foul.
In the end, it’s like last season: Leverkusen just can’t lose. And they score when everyone was expecting a different result.
The past is over, Bayer coach Xabi Alonso stressed on Thursday. On match day, he presented his championship team without any new signings and again with Lukas Hradecky and the two ex-Gladbach players Xhaka and Jonas Hofmann. National player Jonathan Tah was also on the pitch and acted as defensive leader. It is extremely doubtful whether his move to FC Bayern will still happen. The three new signings Martin Terrier, Aleix Garcia and Jeanuel Belocian all remained on the bench.
Gladbach, whose supporters celebrated the start of the season with a fan march in white from the city center to the stadium, just like two years ago, did without their midfielder Manu Koné, who may still be moving during this transfer window. Borussia’s head coach Gerardo Seoane, Alonso’s predecessor in Leverkusen, named two new players in the starting eleven: Kevin Stöger and Tim Kleindienst.
In the match, which was very intense from the start, the guests showed the more mature style of play, as expected, and dominated the game. However, the early 1-0 lead by Xhaka came about more by chance when the Swiss player scored with a direct shot from almost 20 meters into the corner of the goal after preparatory work by Jeremie Frimpong. The 31-year-old, who played for Borussia for four years, was only cautiously happy after his dream goal. Six minutes later, the Gladbach goal post rattled loudly when Victor Boniface only hit the crossbar on a counterattack.
The hosts then became a little bolder and had their first good goal opportunity through Kleindienst, but the second goal was conceded in the counterattack, again initiated by Frimpong and finished with a left-footed shot into the near corner by national player Wirtz. A goal by Kleindienst was subsequently disallowed after a video review.
But Gladbach did come back – first with a goal by Elvedi, who scored to make it 1:2 after a header from Ko Itakura, thus making the game more open. Kleindienst then made the Borussia fans cheer again. An exciting final phase began with an extremely long period of injury time – and a happy ending for Bayer.