Bayer Leverkusen clinched a victory that looked convincing for a long time at the start of the Bundesliga in 2023. The Werkself recorded a 3-2 away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach and jumped up to ninth place. It is the fourth league win in a row. (NEWS: All current information about the Bundesliga)
“It was really good for 70 minutes, then something happened,” said Bayer goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky after the 3-2 (2-0) win at Borussia Mönchengladbach DAZN: “It went well. But if it had gone on for another two or three minutes, it would have looked different.”
In front of 53,336 spectators in Borussia Park, the guests initially tried to find stability. The back three, well organized by Edmond Tapsoba, was secure, before Argentinian world champion Exequiel Palacios and Robert Andrich cleared. Gladbach had a lot of ball possession, but without the injured striker Marcus Thuram (knee problems) the game of the five-time German champions lacked creativity and power.
Leverkusen acted ripped off and took the first chance to lead. Jeremie Frimpong first shook off Ramy Bensebaini and served Adam Hlozek. The Czech only hit the post, but Mitchell Bakker (21′) used the rebound.
Omlin prevented another goal against Frimpong (26′), but shortly before the break Schweizer was powerless again. Adli sprinted away from Nico Elvedi from the center line and kept his nerve free in front of Omlin (43′):
“I imagined the game differently, but I’m happy to be here,” said the newcomer DAZN-Microphone. “We lost the ball too much and got into problems too often against a very strong team.”
Leverkusen also presented themselves more alert and faster at the beginning of the second half. Hlozek was just blocked by Ko Itakura (50′).
Gladbach coach Daniel Farke reacted to the deficit with a triple change (56th) – shortly before that Elvedi had failed with a header at Bayer goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, who reacted strongly. Gladbach now increased the pressure, Leverkusen had a few problems for a short time – then Joker Amiri made everything clear (67th). In particular, the Gladbachers had nothing to counter the speed of the guests.
In the 75th minute, Florian Wirtz celebrated his much-acclaimed Bundesliga comeback after tearing his cruciate ligament in April 2022, to great applause from the visiting fans:
“He had a bit of a cold, otherwise he would have played from the start,” reported Hradecky. For the keeper, the 19-year-old is “a winter newcomer. He brings us into another dimension.” Florian Neuhaus also returned on the side of the foals, he also injured his cruciate ligament last year.
The 1:3 consolation goal for Gladbach was to come in the 82nd minute. Substitute Lars Stindl scored his second goal of the season with a well-placed right-footed shot, and even his third in injury time with a dream long-range shot to make it 2-3 (90+3).
With Sports Information Service (SID)
