The first game of the season? “Just the first kilometer of a marathon!” says the wise coach Xabi Alonso. This sentence shortly before the opening game of the new Bundesliga season on Friday evening sounded as if the champions Bayer Leverkusen wanted to start off easy-going.
But Leverkusen, who were completely undefeated last season, started off wildly. In the 12th minute, Granit Xhaka smashed the ball into Borussia Mönchengladbach’s goal with the outside of his foot from 20 meters so brilliantly that this first goal of the new season may also become the “Goal of the Month” for August in the “Sportschau”. In the end, however, Leverkusen only won by a narrow margin of 3:2 (2:0), and only because Florian Wirtz converted a penalty in the eleventh minute of injury time. Before that, Gladbach had equalized at 2:2.
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By Christof Kneer and Philipp Selldorf
For the 23rd time, there was an opening game at the start of the Bundesliga season. No champion has ever lost this opening game. The champion has now won 18 times and there have been five draws. Gladbach were not far from one. Their new playmaker Kevin Stöger had set up the 2:2 goal in the 85th minute through the new center forward Tim Kleindienst. Gladbach were close to winning a not undeserved point. But then Ko Itakura fouled Amine Adli.
Kleindienst scores late to make it 2-2, but Leverkusen hits back again
Stöger had played for VfL Bochum until last season, which is why: Bayer Leverkusen last lost a Bundesliga game at VfL Bochum on May 23, 2023, and Gladbach last won a Bundesliga home game against VfL Bochum on February 24, 2024. Both remained the same on Friday.
Expectations were high in Mönchengladbach: fans marching to the stadium, a spectacular choreography, extreme noise. The team was initially unable to meet these expectations. Leverkusen should have been leading by more than 2-0 at half-time, but Victor Boniface (18th) and Edmond Tapsoba (23rd) had hit the post in the meantime. In the 38th minute, Wirtz scored to make it 2-0. A goal by Kleindienst in the 42nd minute that was initially given was rightly disallowed due to a foul.
Xabi Alonso, who seems willing to switch between goalkeepers Lukas Hradecky and Matej Kovar in Bundesliga matches this season, unsurprisingly chose Hradecky, but said: “That was a decision for today.” In the 59th minute, Hradecky conceded the first goal. Nico Elvedi scored to make it 1-2 after a Stöger free kick. Kleindienst’s goal in the 85th minute had the potential to make it 2-2.
But late, very late, Leverkusen, the specialists for very late goals from the championship season, were able to score the winning goal 3-2 with a penalty. Once again.
