Leverkusen overpower Monchengladbach in season-opening five-goal thriller

BERLIN, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Florian Wirtz's late strike gave Bayer Leverkusen a 3-2 win over Borussia Monchengladbach as the 62nd Bundesliga season opened on Friday.

The titleholders got off to a fairytale start when Granit Xhaka pounced on a clearance to fire into the top left-hand corner from 20 meters after just 12 minutes.

Monchengladbach responded almost immediately, but Rocco Reitz couldn't beat cus