“You can’t make this up” – Fans in disbelief as Bayer Leverkusen claim late victory in thrilling Bundesliga opener

Bayer Leverkusen pulls off another late-gasp winner through Florian Wirtz as fans go berserk after their opening win in Bundesliga 2024-25.

“You can’t make this up” – Fans in disbelief as Bayer Leverkusen claim late victory in thrilling Bundesliga opener

Bayer Leverkusen, image courtesy: X

It was a dramatic turnaround of affairs at the Borussia-park as Bayer Leverkusen seized another late win, a theme that defined them in the preceding season. In what was an oscillating encounter, both the teams duked it out till the very end before Florian Wirtz hammered home a late finish to propel Leverkusen to a winning start to their Bundesliga campaign in 2024-25.

Leverkusen started the game on a bang as Granit Xhaka found the back of the net in the 12th minute. It could have been further trouble for Gladbach had Victor Boniface and Edmond Tapsoba not rattled the woodwork. Riding high on the wave of dominion, it was Leverkusen’s star striker, Florian Wirtz who managed to find the back of the net from the rebound after Alex Grimaldo’s shot was parried away by Jonas Omlin.

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Tim Kleindienst almost managed to pull one back just before half-time for Gladbach but his header was ruled out for a foul in the build-up. However, Monchengladbach did redeem themselves with Nico Elvedi reducing the deficit. Kleindienst found himself at the receiving end of a brilliant assist as he nutmegged Tapsoba to restore parity in the 85th minute.

Just when it felt like it was over and the defending champions may have to settle for a point, Florian Wirtz stepped up on the century mark. After VAR’s prolonged review, the awarded penalty was smashed home, propelling Bayer Leverkusen to another one of their signature last-gasp victories.

What did X have to say about Bayer Leverkusen’s late-gasp winner?

X formerly known as Twitter went berserk after Wirtz’s dramatic late penalty that saw Bayer Leverkusen asserting their authority. The fans made no attempt to hide their emotions as their team replicated the highlight of the last season where they scored quite a significant number of late goals to clinch victories.

It’s difficult to explain why we always score late goals. We can’t train that and I can’t influence it. It’s the mentality of the team.
Bayer Leverkusen head-coach, Xabi Alonso said in the post-match presser.
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen, image courtesy: X

The reigning champions of the Bundesliga will be taking on RB Leipzig in their next league fixture while they have a clash against Carl Zeiss Jena in the first-round clash of DFB-Pokal. The early win for Leverkusen will be driving their confidence ahead of a couple of close-gasp encounters.

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