1st matchday
3: 2 against Leipzig: Leverkusen underpins reputation as an insider tip
Leverkusen won 3-2 against Leipzig in a high-quality game. photo
© Marius Becker/dpa
After strong transfers, Bayer Leverkusen was repeatedly mentioned as the secret favorite in the run-up to the season. The first matchday shows that this could actually be the case.
Bayer Leverkusen has its reputation as Insider tip in the Bundesliga impressively underlined on the 1st match day. In front of the eyes of national coach Hansi Flick and DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, the Werkself defeated cup winners and Supercup winners RB Leipzig 3: 2 (2: 1) in a game that was exciting at times.
Last year’s third from Saxony got off to an unfortunate start to the season after the furious 3-0 win in the Supercup at FC Bayern last week. Once again. Because in their now eight first division seasons, the Leipzigers only managed to win twice in the opening game.
Jeremie Frimpong (24′), Jonathan Tah (35′) and Florian Wirtz (64′) scored the goals for Bayer. Bayern fright Dani Olmo (39th), who scored all three goals last Saturday, and newcomer Lois Openda (71st) shortened twice.
Leipzig started with the same eleven as in the Supercup, so the three newcomers Nicolas Seiwald, Xavi Simons and Openda made their Bundesliga debuts. At Leverkusen, four new players started in Granit Xhaka on his Bundesliga comeback after more than seven years: Jonas Hofmann, Alejandro Grimaldo and Victor Boniface. They all introduced themselves well. The very present Boniface and Hofmann each prepared a goal, the latter Bayer’s first corner kick goal in 2023. Xhaka was the boss in midfield, and Grimaldo convinced on the left wing with his enthusiasm.
Fast-paced and playfully demanding game
Due to the offensive orientation of both teams, it had already been assumed that games between Bayer and RB would always be high-scoring. But that wasn’t the case in the end. In the previous eight duels, an average of just two goals had been scored. That’s well below the league average. On Saturday it quickly became apparent that there would be more.
Up until the middle of the first half there were few chances to score, but it was an interesting, fast-paced and playfully demanding game. Bayer took the lead when Frimpong slotted in the ball from five yards out after a sharp cross from Boniface. The Dutch winger had scored an impressive eight goals of the season last year. Tah raised from a Hofmann corner and Boniface even had the 3-0 on his head, but Janis Blaswich saved his header (37th). And so the guests came back before the break when Olmo also headed in directly after a corner from David Raum.
Even after the change, both only knew the way forward. Blaswich held tight against Wirtz, who was now turning up the heat (48′), Tah blocked the shot by ex-Leverkusener Benjamin Henrichs to the corner (49′), then the overall very unlucky Leipzig striker Timo Werner lost the ball in his 250th Bundesliga game (57th). RB coach Marco Rose tried everything, made three changes after an hour and switched to a three-man chain. But two minutes later, Wirtz scored with an involuntary bounce. But RB didn’t give up. Shortly after his goal, Openda hit the ball in front of the empty goal and hit the post on the second try from the turn.