The 62nd Bundesliga season kicked off simply because the 61st Bundesliga season ended all too typically, with a really late Bayer Leverkusen win. This time, it took till the eleventh minute of additional time for Florian Wirtz to attain the winner as he put away the rebound of his missed penalty.

Earlier than the penalty, Gladbach had performed every little thing to take at the least two factors of the German champions. After Leverkusen made it 2-0 due to targets by Granit Xhaka (12’) and Wirtz (38’), Gladbach mounted a comeback. The Foals made it 2-2 due to targets by Nico Elvedi (59’) and new signing Tim Kleindienst (85’).

Kleindienst, in reality, thought he had scored within the first half however fouled Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie earlier than heading the ball throughout the road. “They checked every little thing towards us,” Gladbach managing director of sport Roland Virkus stated. “There wasn’t a single scenario they checked in our favor.”

That, too, is extra of the identical outdated, because the 2023/24 season flips to the 2024/25 season. There are countless debates about VAR.

Gladbach followers gained’t like to listen to it, although. The one true criticism that may very well be voiced towards referee Robert Schröder is that he used VAR within the first place for each selections. The foul on Hincapie forward of Kleindienst’s first-half aim and the foul on Amine Adli deep into harm time had been evident in actual time and will have been referred to as instantly.

“I can perceive why a game-deciding choice results in discussions,” Schröder stated after the sport earlier than explaining his choice to provide the penalty. “However he doesn’t play the ball and as an alternative the opponent; by the regulation, that’s a foul.”

The selections had been proper, however the time it took to make them will be rightfully criticized. The referee workforce took 5 minutes to resolve on the Kleindienst scenario.

Certainly, three VAR selections took longer than essential to test. These checks, plus the pyrotechnic present unleashed by Gladbach, meant that we had 11 minutes of harm time, giving Leverkusen sufficient time to win this sport, in any case.

The refereeing selections apart, the stats underline that Leverkusen greater than deserved the victory. Leverkusen completed the sport with 54% possession, 604 vs 446 passes, and an xG of 4.01 vs. 2.19. Maybe the one level of criticism in direction of Alonso’s facet is that they didn’t end off the opponent a bit sooner.

On the flipside, there are additionally loads of positives to remove from Gladbach’s perspective. New signings Kevin Stöger and Kleindienst regarded harmful all through the match. Kleindienst, particularly, appears poised to create a hazardous partnership with up-and-coming German nationwide workforce star Rocco Reitz.

After all, Gladbach’s story is nicely documented. For years, the Foals have been Bayern Munich’s bogey workforce, exhibiting up for these two fixtures whereas taking part in in any other case unmemorable seasons. In different phrases, Gladbach might want to present that they’ll show this sort of efficiency week in and week out.

That can also be a superb lesson for Leverkusen. Die Werkself is now the workforce everybody within the Bundesliga needs to beat. That signifies that each match will really feel like a cup ultimate, as opponents will carry their A-game.

Bayern Munich, Leverkusen’s largest title rival, has relished this for nearly a decade. Certainly, because the Bundesliga kicks off, Der Rekordmeister stays the most important title contender for Leverkusen.

Bayern’s generally chaotic switch summer time means they gained’t be the one one difficult Leverkusen. With their new additions of Maxi Beier, Serhou Guirassy, Pascal Groß, and Waldemar Anton, Dortmund seems to be considerably improved. RB Leipzig, within the meantime, has compensated Dani Olmo’s departure by signing Antonio Nusa.

Then there may be at all times one shock workforce to reckon with—that shock workforce may very well be final 12 months’s shock workforce VfB Stuttgart. Though Stuttgart misplaced Guirassy Anton to Dortmund, the membership has made some important signings as nicely and took Leverkusen all the best way final weekend within the DFL Supercup.

After all, Leverkusen gained the Supercup by scoring late. Certainly, their uncanny home undefeated run has now been stretched to 53 video games. It’s a document run, and as Leverkusen continues to look unbeatable, in addition they stay the favorites to win the Bundesliga title.