Stuttgart clawed back to draw with Bayer Leverkusen 3-3

STUTTGART FIGHTBACK LEAVES LEVERKUSEN STUNNED

Stuttgart - A stunning comeback rescued VfB Stuttgart a dramatic 3-3 draw at home to Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

The Swabians fought back from three goals down thanks to strikes from Timo Werner, Florian Klein and Martin Harnik after Heung-Min Son’s double and Karim Bellarabi had given Leverkusen a seemingly comfortable three-goal half-time lead.

Son brace

Boosted by their streak of four competitive games without a defeat, Leverkusen settled into their rhythm quickly, dictating both pace and possession in the early stages against a deep-lying Stuttgart side. Their dominance paid off after four minutes when Son collected from Stefan Kießling to slot in from close range.

The South Korean was at the heart of all Leverkusen's attacking efforts, imposing a constant threat on the Stuttgart defence. He made it two only five minutes later, picking up Thorsten Kirschbaum’s loose clearance and hammering the ball into the back of the net from a good 30 yards.

Werner pulls one back

Antonio Rüdiger gave the guests their first serious warning at the other end with a promising header near the half-hour mark, but things soon went from bad to worse when, after Kießling’s effort from a tight angle bounced off the post, Bellarabi crowned a fantastic solo effort to hand Bayer a comfortable three-goal lead.

Stuttgart were never going to give in on their own patch, however, with Armin Veh’s men emerging for the second half completely rejuvenated. Martin Harnik came close to pulling one back for the Swabians, swerving marginally wide, before Werner went one better, nodding Klein’s cross into the far left corner.

Harnik to the rescue

The hosts managed to keep up the pressure against a detereorating Leverkusen side, bossing possession and carrying the far greater threat as the game progressed. The 2007 Bundesliga champions soon saw their efforts pay further dividends when Klein hammered the ball home from long range, leaving Bernd Leno in the Leverkusen goal with no chance whatsoever.

Sensing their chance to snatch an unlikely draw, Stuttgart threw men forward in the final stages, and it was the tireless Harnik who sent the home side level with 13 minutes on the clock, nodding in substitute Filip Kostic’s pinpoint free-kick to make it 3-3. Roberto Hilbert passed up one final chance to give Leverkusen a dramatic late win as a thrilling contest ended all square.

Bayer Leverkusen beat Borussia Dortmund in opening game 2-0

BBC

Karim Bellarabi scored the fastest goal in German top-flight history - after just nine seconds - to help Bayer Leverkusen beat Borussia Dortmund.

Three passes after kick-off, the 24-year-old midfielder received the ball on the edge of the Dortmund box before turning and sliding in from 15 yards.

It was two seconds quicker than the record held by three players, including Bayern Munich's Giovane Elber in 1998.

Stefan Kiessling's injury-time effort sealed Leverkusen's opening-day win.

"I am really happy for Bellarabi," said Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voeller. "This record is great for him. We did absolutely everything right in that first half and so did he."

Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp reacted to Bellarabi's record-breaking goal with a disbelieving grin, but was not smiling at the final whistle as he angrily harangued the match officials.

In truth, Klopp could only blame his players for a deserved defeat which already leaves them three points adrift of arch-rivals Bayern Munich.

The under-strength hosts, who were missing several key players through injury, played at a pedestrian pace and were unable to cope with Leverkusen's high-tempo pressing.

Reigning champions Bayern started their title defence with a 2-1 success against Wolfsburg on Friday.

Champions League: Manchester United stamps its class on Bayer 4-2

Wayne Rooney scored two goals in a dominating performance against Bayer Leverkusen

Manchester United is notches higher than Bayer Leverkusen at this time as the scoreline indicated in their latest meeting in the Champion's League. In a game dominated by Manchester United, both teams finished with goals that delighted the crowd at Old Trafford. 

The scores began in the 22nd minute when Shinji Kagawa heads the ball to Patrice Evra who then crossed the ball to Wayne Rooney. Rooney then made a bouncing volley which was too high for Bernd Leno to reach and Manchester United was up ahead. Manchester could have upped the lead in the 44th minute when Shinji Kagawa received a lob from Antonio Valencia but Kagawa's attempt missed the goal by few inches. 

Manchester United resume its dominating performance in the second half and one can sense that their second goal is forthcoming. But it was Bayer Leverkusen which broke the ice surprisingly. In the 54th minute, Son Heung Min find himself no room to penetrate as he was swarmed by Manchester United backline. He then made an outlet pass to Simon Rolfes. Simon Rolfes curling shot bounced on Michael Carrick and then went inside the goal without much challenge. David De Gea visibly stunned was not able to react as Bayer players celebrated on the pitch. It did not take long and Manchester United answered Bayer. In the 59th minute, Anderson lob the ball to Antonio Valencia on the right who then cross it to Van Persie who scored with beautiful volley past Bernd Leno. 

Bayer Leverkusen could have equalized it on the 70th minute when Lars Bender's nutmeg shot went pass Michael Carrick only to be saved by De Gea. Instead, it was Manchester United who increased the lead when in the ensuing play, De Gea's lob was headed by Emer Spahic but it went straight to Wayne Rooney who broke away and slammed the ball to the hapless Leno on the other side. Manchester United complete the domination when in the 79th minute a beautiful counter attacked was staged by Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney. Young squared to Rooney in the middle and Rooney lets out a through ball pass which was caught by Antonio Valencia who rifled it on Leverkusen goal. The lead was already insurmountable.

Bayer scored a consolation goal in the 88th minute when Emry Can's corner landed on Stefan Reinartz. Reinartz header hit the woodwork which cause a short scramble before Omer Toprak poked the ball into the Manchester United goal. But at that time, the outcome was already a foregone conclusion.