Granit Xhaka Scores Screamer in Bayer Leverkusen’s Last-gasp 3-2 Win over Borussia

Granit Xhaka scored a goal from outside the penalty box with a thunderous strike as Bayer Leverkusen got their Bundesliga title defence underway against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday.

Leverkusen midfielder Xhaka blew the lid off the game early, rocketing in a brilliant long-range effort after 13 minutes, giving Gladbach goalie Jonas Omlin no chance.

The effort was a mirror image of the Switzerland captain’s goal in Leverkusen’s 1-0 German Cup final win over Kaiserslautern in May.

Xhaka, who spent four years at Gladbach before his move to Arsenal, held his hands in the air, refusing to celebrate the stunner against his former club.

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A bleach-blonde Florian Wirtz doubled Leverkusen’s lead after 38 minutes, blasting in on the turn in a crowded penalty area.

Tim Kleindienst looked to have pulled one back for the hosts just before half-time but the former Heidenheim forward’s effort was struck off on VAR review.

Gladbach’s Nico Elvedi, who lost possession just before Xhaka’s opener, redeemed himself for the hosts, heading in a rebound to cut Leverkusen’s lead 14 minutes into the second-half.

Kleindienst then levelled things up late, pushing past some sloppy defending from Edmond Tapsoba to blast the ball into the net.

In the final minute of stoppage time, Ko Itakura clipped Amine Adli in the box and a VAR review brought Wirtz to the spot.

Omlin kept the low shot out but Wirtz was first to the rebound, knocking it home to ensure his side started their title defence with three points.

Still Unbeaten

Leverkusen built a reputation for saving matches with last-gasp goals during their incredible run last season and Friday’s strike was officially the latest goal in league history.

“We started well in the first half and were dominant. We said at half-time we don’t want to let them back into it,” Xhaka told DAZN.

“They came back but again we showed our pure mentality and we can take the three points back to Leverkusen from a difficult away match.”

Leverkusen coach Alonso was at a loss for words.

“I have no explanation for that. It’s football. It’s happened for us a lot.”

Wirtz, 21, said he was “glad” to be given the responsibility of the spot-kick, saying he “wanted to decide the game”.

“I know that at the end it was a bit lucky, but I don’t want to complain. We’re happy that we won at the end.

“We made it a bit hard for ourselves. There’s plenty of things we need to keep working on but we can be happy we got the three points today.”

(With inputs from Agencies)