Defending champions Bayer Leverkusen get their Bundesliga campaign off to a flying start. Coach Xabi Alonso's team won 3:2 in extremis at Borussia Mönchengladbach, with Xhaka once again in the thick of it.
The fact that Leverkusen lifted the league trophy for the first time in the club's history in May was largely down to midfielder Granit Xhaka. The captain of the Swiss national team was named the best defensive midfielder of the season by specialist magazine "Kicker".
In the first match of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season, Xhaka proved that he will continue to have a major influence on the German champions' play in the new season. The national team captain controlled the game and had by far the most touches of the ball (115). In the 12th minute, he hammered the ball into the net from around 20 meters at 129 km/h to make it 1-0 - Jonas Omlin in the Gladbach goal was powerless.
"We knew we'd get another chance"
"The ball comes back to me with great timing. I thought to myself, I'll just take it straight away," Xhaka casually analyzed his dream goal on "Sat.1" after the match.
When Leverkusen's late winning goal comes up, it is clear that the Werkself and their Swiss figurehead have been deeply impressed by last season. "We knew that we had more possession at the end. We knew we'd get another chance," said Xhaka in a relaxed manner.
The fact that the late penalty for Leverkusen's double goalscorer Florian Wirtz only worked via the follow-up shot was down to Swiss keeper Omlin. "He saved the penalty well, it wasn't such a bad shot," said Xhaka, who was naturally delighted with the late 3:2.
"We're happy that we got another penalty. I know what it's like to play here. And it's always a bit special on the first matchday. We're happy about the win."
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