Bayer Leverkusen Clinch Dramatic Victory Over Borussia Monchengladbach in 2024-25 Bundesliga Opener
Bayer Leverkusen defeated Borussia Monchengladbach 3-2, displaying their renowned tenacity as the 2024–25 Bundesliga season got off to an exciting start.
Florian Wirtz of Leverkusen scored the game’s winning goal in the 101st minute of stoppage time on Friday at Borussia-Park, making it the latest goal in Bundesliga history.
In Friday’s Bundesliga opener, Florian Wirtz’s goal in the 11th minute of stoppage time secured a 3-2 victory for reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen at Borussia Moenchengladbach. Granit Xhaka lauded his team’s “pure mentality“.
Leverkusen led Xabi Alonso’s team by two goals at the half thanks to goals from Xhaka and Wirtz. At Gladbach’s Borussia Park, where rain was pouring heavily, Nico Elvedi’s goal in the 59th minute pulled the home team closer, and five minutes later, rookie Tim Kleindienst equalized the score.
Long extra time was added during a second-half delay caused by home supporters setting off flares in the stands. Ko Itakura brought Wirtz to the spot as he clipped Amine Adli’s boot in the box during the tenth minute of the stoppage time. The Germany midfielder’s strike was saved, but he scored on the rebound to help his team win late once more.
During their amazing run last season, Leverkusen earned a reputation for rescuing games with late goals, and Friday’s effort was the most recent goal in league history. “We had a strong first half and dominated the game. We told DAZN at halftime that we didn’t want to allow them to reenter the game,” Xhaka stated.
“They came back but again we showed our pure mentality and we can take the three points back to Leverkusen from a difficult away match.”
Coach Alonso of Leverkusen was speechless.
“I don’t know how to explain that. Football is being played. It has frequently occurred for us.
The 21-year-old Wirtz expressed his satisfaction at being assigned as the spot-kick, stating that he “wanted to decide the game.”
“I don’t want to complain, even though I know that in the end it was a little lucky. We’re pleased with our final victory.
We put a little bit of strain on ourselves. Even if we still have a lot of work to do, we should be pleased that we scored three points today.”
After winning both the league and the cup in their last campaign without a loss, Leverkusen won the German Supercup last Saturday by defeating Stuttgart on penalties.
Just before the game, Gladbach, a fallen behemoth that barely survived relegation the previous season, suffered a setback when star midfielder Manu Kone was kept out of the starting lineup because of an upcoming departure from the team.
After 13 minutes, Leverkusen midfielder Xhaka scored a spectacular long-range goal that left Gladbach goaltender Jonas Omlin with no chance of stopping it. The effort was identical to the captain of Switzerland’s goal against Kaiserslautern in May’s German Cup final, which Leverkusen won 1-0.
Before joining Arsenal, Xhaka spent four years with Gladbach. He refused to celebrate the incredible victory over his old team by raising his fists in the air.
After 38 minutes, a bleach-blonde Wirtz increased Leverkusen’s lead by scoring on the spin in a packed penalty area. Just before halftime, Kleindienst appeared to have given the home team a lead, but the former Heidenheim forward’s attempt was disregarded by the VAR.
Fourteen minutes into the second half, Gladbach’s Elvedi, who had given up shortly before Xhaka’s opening goal, made amends for the home team by heading in a rebound to cut Leverkusen’s advantage.
After that, Kleindienst tied the score late on by scoring a goal past Edmond Tapsoba’s careless defense. Adli went down in the box in the last minute of stoppage time, and Wirtz was called for a VAR review.
Omlin stopped the low shot, but Wirtz was quickest to the rebound and scored to make sure his team had three points to begin their title defense.
The league opening on Friday, which pits the reigning champions against one other, was the first since 2013 that Bayern Munich was absent.
