Champions League: Leverkusen starts with gala performance

Bayer Leverkusen made a convincing start to the Champions League. The German champions beat Feyenoord Rotterdam 4-0.

Leverkusen’s attacker Florian Wirtz is currently one of the most sought-after footballers in the world. The 21-year-old’s market value is 130 million euros. In Rotterdam, he underlined why once again. In his first ever game in the Champions League, Wirtz needed just over four and a half minutes to put the visitors in the lead with a well-placed low shot from around 18 meters.

In the 36th minute, Wirtz doubled the lead with a direct shot in the penalty area after a straightforward counterattack and a cross from Alejandro Grimaldo, who scored the 2-0 goal (30th minute). The Swiss player Jordan Lotomba, who plays for Feyenoord, did not cut the best figure, as he could have easily run with Wirtz. Lotomba was substituted in the 61st minute. For Leverkusen, the Swiss national team captain Granit Xhaka played until the 80th minute. He had a lot of ball contact as usual, but was unable to make a major impact.

The score was already 4-0 after the first half, and this against an opponent who had last lost in a serious match after 90 minutes on December 13, 2023 – also in the Champions League at Celtic Glasgow (1-2).

Benfica Lisbon beat Red Star Belgrade 2-1. The Swiss Zeki Amdouni came on as a substitute for the visitors in the 88th minute.

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