Bundesliga champions squander two-goal lead against hard-fighting Borussia Monchengladbach

Granit Xhaka after scoring his first goal of the current Bundesliga season-a stunner Image credit: ESPN

By Ed Emeanua

Bayer Leverkusen can’t be beaten despite squandering a well-deserved two-goal lead against hard-fighting Borussia Monchengladbach. And they can’t stop winning either.

The Reigning Bundesliga kings began the defense of their crown with a convincing 3-2 win over die Borussen (the Prussians) on Friday in their opening game of the new Bundesliga campaign.

Die Werkself (The Factory Eleven), put on a shooting practice clinical in the first twenty-two minutes of the scintillating encounter at Borussia Monchengladbach’s famous Borussia Park that saw them take the lead.

Within that small window in the game, Granit Xhaka blasted home the opener in the 12th minute, a left-footed shot from well outside the box off a fast break that sailed unstoppably to the top left corner.

In the 18th minute, Victor Boniface took his turn to waltz and Zazzle inside the home side’s eighteen-yard box before letting fly a cannon that crashed into the bar with a right-footed shot from the left side of the box following another fast break.

It was Edmond Tapsoba‘s turn in the 22nd minute to take to the mark, as his shot also collided with the bar with a right-footed shot from outside the box off an Xhaka assist.

In between Xhaka’s goal and the Boniface, Tapsoba near misses, Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Rocco Reitz’s attempt off a right footed shot from the right side of the six yards box was nabbed in the center of the goal in the 15th minute.

So too was Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah header from the centre of the box thwarted from sailing into the bottom left corner off an Álex Grimaldo cross in the 20th minute of the fast-paced thriller.

A minute later, Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Tim Kleindienst’s right-footed shot from the right side of the box is foiled from going into the top right corner from a Franck Honorat assist.

Following Xhaka’s opener, both sides settled into a see-saw assault and counter-attacking forays of the opposing ends of the field that failed to bear fruits.

However, after Álex Grimaldo’s effort for Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a right-footed shot from the center of the box was saved in the middle of the goalposts, seconds later, Florian Wirtz followed through for Bayer 04 Leverkusen left footing his shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner to hand the visitors a well deserved two goals cushion.

Tim Kleindienst’s effort to halve the lead for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 42nd minute is ruled out following a VAR review.

Two minutes into the first half stoppage time, Boniface’s right-footed shot from the left side of the box misses going into the left.

In the 59th minute of the game, Borussia Mönchengladbach finally gets their breakthrough through Nico Elvedi after his left-footed shot from close range sailed into the center of the goal off a set-piece play.

In the 66th minute, Boniface’s right-footed shot from Robert Andrich’s assist from outside the box is blocked.

Boniface‘s teed pass to Xhaka in the 71st minute is met with a left-footed shot from the Albanian outside the box that sails too high into the sky.

Seven minutes later, it was Xhaka who was the provider for the Nigerian who saw Boniface’s left-footed shot from the left side of the box blocked.

Tim Kleindienst then stepped up for Borussia Mönchengladbach, right footing his shot from the center of the box to the middle of the goalline to draw level with the champions.

Florian Wirtz saw his penalty kick for Bayer 04 Leverkusen, (a right-footed shot) saved from nestling into his intended bottom-left corner of the net.

Undaunted, Wirtz fought to seal the win for the champions following up on his penalty kick miss with a right-footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal in the 11th minute of injury time.

This followed the VAR decision for a penalty rule for Bayer 04 Leverkusen conceded by Ko Itakura of Borussia Mönchengladbach after a foul in the penalty area.