"Last season, a dream came true for us, but we don't want to look back on it anymore," said Leverkusen's coach Xabi Alonso ahead of the Champions League premiere in Rotterdam.
Then he emphasized.
"Our goal is to prove ourselves again."
Said – and done.
The Bundesliga champion got off to a flying start away against Feyenoord and got a dream start when Florian Wirtz scored 1–0 just five minutes in.
Then the game and goal scoring flowed.
Alejandro Grimaldo increased the lead to 2–0 after half an hour of play, Wirtz scored the next goal, and thanks to an own goal by Timon Wellenreuther, Leverkusen had a 4–0 lead at halftime.
A start that both laid the foundation for and cemented three points in the season's first Champions League match.
Benfica also got a good start to the tournament, 2–1 away against Red Star. Kerem Aktürkoğlu and Orkun Kökçü scored the goals that gave them the win.
