Leverkusen pulls off another win at the death
Florian Wirtz produced another late show for Bayer Leverkusen as the Bundesliga champion started its title defence with a dramatic 3-2 win over Borussia Monchengladbach.
Leverkusen looked set to start its campaign with a point, having seen Nico Elvedi and Tim Kleindienst cancel out Granit Xhaka and Wirtz’s first-half strikes.
However, as it showed last season on its way to a maiden Bundesliga crown, Wirtz struck in the 11th minute of stoppage-time to extend Leverkusen's unbeaten league run.
Xabi Alonso's side was cruising at the break as Xhaka's stunning strike from distance was followed by Wirtz's first of the game seven minutes before the break.
The hosts would draw level just before the hour-mark as Elvedi nodded the ball home after seeing his initial effort brilliantly kept out by Lukas Hradecky.
With the pressure mounting, Kleindienst marked his Monchengladbach debut with a goal five minutes from time. However, yet more drama would unfold.
Leverkusen was awarded a late penalty for Ko Itakura's foul on substitute Amine Adli, with Wirtz seeing his spot-kick saved, only to follow up and score the rebound.
Leverkusen continues to keep fans across the globe on the edge of their seats, with Alonso's side now unbeaten in its past 35 Bundesliga matches.
After scoring 18 goals last season, Wirtz started the campaign with a brace, with his two goals taking his total for Die Werkself to 43 in 154 appearances.
He also became the fifth Leverkusen player, after Christian Schreier, Ulf Kirsten, Bernd Schneider and Stefan Kießling, to score in two consecutive opening matches of a Bundesliga campaign.
