Mönchengladbach vs Bayer Player Ratings: Florian Wirtz scores late penalty to earn vital win on opening day
Bayer Leverkusen scored a late penalty to earn all three points in the opening game of the Bundesliga 2024-25 season on Friday (Aug 23). A late penalty from Florian Wirtz saw the champions get off to a winning start despite having given away a 2-0 lead from halftime. Here are all the player ratings from the Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Bayer Leverkusen contest.
Here’s a look at our Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Bayer Leverkusen Player Ratings:
Borussia Mönchengladbach Player Ratings vs Bayer Leverkusen
Goalkeeper
Moritz Nicolas (6.7/10): Facing Patrik Schick and Florian Wirtz, Nicolas was good at his work and even made a late penalty save but could not prevent the rebound.
Defenders
Joe Scally (6.6/10): Tried his best to defend the box from the opponent’s relentless strikes.
Nico Elvedi (6.8/10): Intercepted and cleared the ball off of his area on multiple occasions. and scored one goal.
Marvin Friedrich (6.5/10): Played a solid defense alongside Elvedi at the back.
Franck Honorat (6.7/10): Helped the team with his movements down the flank.
Midfielders
Manu Koné (6.8/10): Dealing with Leverkusen midfielders was tough, but Kone fought his best to do so.
Julian Weigl (6.6/10): Played an anchor role well, intercepting the opponents’ balls and delivering passes for his teammates.
Florian Neuhaus (6.8/10): His passes and penetration from the right side helped Gladbach add a threat to Leverkusen.
Forwards
Luca Netz (7.2/10): Caused trouble in Leverkusen’s defence, and frequently sent out some threats to the visitors’ goal.
Jordan (7.2/10): Formed a solid link-up alongside Netz and Hack.
Robin Hack (7.3/10): Shocked the visitors’ players and was a good presence in attack.
Substitutions
Rocco Reitz (6.7/10): Gladbach strengthened the midfield, avoiding the possibility of exhaustion in the center of the pitch.
Stefan Lainer (6.5/10): Came on to give Gladbach fresh legs in the last minutes of the game.
Bayer Leverkusen Player Ratings vs Borussia Mönchengladbach
Goalkeeper
Matej Kovar (7.4/10): Was kept on his toes by Gladbach forwards and made some important saves.
Defenders
Josip Stanisic (6.8/10): Helped the team’s attacking plan from the left flank with his penetrations and passes.
Robert Andrich (6.5/10): Busy commanding his teammates to focus on defending their box.
Piero Hincapié (6.7/10): His connection with Andrich helped Leverkusen from suffering more goals from Gladbach.
Jeremie Frimpong (6.9/10): Running up and down the flank to help Leverkusen in both defending and attacking.
Midfielders
Granit Xhaka (7.2/10): Scored the opening goal of the season and was solid defending from the opponents
Nadim Amiri (7.3/10): Played an important role in the midfield, dictating the game plan from there.
Alejandro Grimaldo (6.8/10): He was spot on whenever required in the attack.
Jonas Hofmann (6.8/10): His efforts tin attack for Leverkusen got blocked and intercepted several times.
Florian Wirtz (8/10): His winning goal in the 100th minute was the highlight reel on the opening day having ended with a brace.
Forwards
Patrik Schick (6.8/10): Had a rough day in the final third as Gladbach pulled a solid show.
Substitutions
Nathan Tella (6.9/10): Came on with an expectation of giving more options in Leverkusen’s attacking plan.
Adam Hlozek (6.6/10): Surely gave Leverkusen new energy to keep pushing the opponents, forcing for a goal.