Anyone who hasn’t seen it won’t believe it. The history of ‘Neverlusen’ extends to this new start of the Bundesliga and, as it could not happen, with victory on the horn against Borussia Monchengladbach with a goal from Wirtz in the 101st minute after collecting his own rebound from missed penalty ( 2-3). They have now gone 41 consecutive matches without losing against a German club.
Leverkusen’s starting line-up is a completely recognizable eleven. No one signed on the pitch, nor Aleix García, who still aims to be important. Wirtz, Xhaka, Grimaldo and company, those in charge of making Xabi Alonso’s team champions last season, are part of the eleven that will try to confirm that this is not a surprise.
At least that’s what was seen in the first half. With the aura of a champion team, Leverkusen hit first and strong. On top of that, he could have condemned Gladbach, who first warned Weigl’s shot in the first half. Xhaka made the law of the ‘ex’, as he managed to score Bayer’s first goal in this Bundesliga with a trademark shot that Omlin hardly saw coming (12′). A goal that fills the team with confidence that, although Hradecky saved the tie later on, imposed his rhythm and his game.
The biggest enemy of Xabi Alonso’s team is wood. First the crossbar and then the crossbar stopped good goals by Boniface and Tapsoba in just a few minutes. The second, if it goes in, could be the goal of the season in the Bundesliga because it came from more than 30 meters. Wirtz got it right doubling the lead. He was alive when he collected the rebound of a shot from Grimaldo to score with his left foot (38′).
However, Leverkusen left with a warning to the sailors at half-time. Kleindienst scored with a header from the ground but, although it was worth the first time, the striker fouled Hincapié, who hit low, keeping him off the scoreboard. After a break and rest for a few minutes due to the smoke from the flares, Bayer dominated and was unaffected, but powerless in Gladbach’s approach. Elvedi, in the second after a fantastic handball from Hradecky (59′), made things complicated for the champion.
Time to show the ‘made in’ Xabi Alonso mentality. And boy is it done. Far from retreating, the defender of the crown decided to take a step forward and the next goal was closer to falling on his side. Terrier and Boniface, somewhat desperate, had the first, with Bayer playing all the time in Gladbach’s field.
But football is fickle and Borussia was not there to feature either. An isolated and very poorly defended play by Leverkusen, and especially by Tapsoba, gave the advantage to Kleindienst, who scored the tie from the ground (85′).
In honor, things cannot stay this way. At least that’s what Bayer tried to do, who last year were experts at scoring in the final minutes and taking advantage of long stoppage time wanting to react. And another miracle came. It was a VAR penalty, after Itakura caught Adli. Moment for the best, Wirtz, who after missing his shot collected the rebound and led Leverkusen to victory (101′).
match lineup
1
29
20
8
3
30
9
27
11
7
14
1
30
20
3
4
12
34
8
22
7
10
BORUSSIA-PARK
Lukás Hrádecky1
Jeremie Frimpong30
94′
Alex Grimaldo20
Piero Hincapié3
Jonathan Tah4
58′
Edmond Tapsoba12
94′
Granite Xhaka34
11′
70′
Robert Andrich8
81′
41′
84′
94′
Victor Boniface22
81′
Jonas Hoffmann7
64′
70′
Florian Wirtz10
37′
100′
Replacements
Matej Kovar17
94′
Odilon Kossounou6
Arthur13
94′
102′
Jeanuël Belocian44
Nathan Tella19
70′
Alex Garcia24
81′
94′
Martin Terrier11
64′
Patrick Schick14
70′
Amine Adli21
81′
coach
Gerardo Seoane
Xabi Alonso
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
