dpa
Berlin
Florian Wirtz scored twice as electric Bayer Leverkusen triumphed 4-0 at Feyenoord on Thursday as the last day of the first week of revamped Champions League got under way.
The German champions, who lost only once last season in the Europa League final to Atalanta, netted early on through Germany’s Wirtz.
Spain’s Alejandro Grimaldo made it 2-0 on the half hour and playmaker Wirtz soon scored a near carbon copy goal, with Dutchman Jeremie Frimpong again assisting. An own goal from Feyenoord’s German goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther had Leverkusen four up on 45 minutes.
“Compliments to the team for playing like that against a good side,” Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka told DAZN. “4-0 away from home, we will definitely take that. The fans here are unbelievable, it’s a great atmosphere but we made them quieter.”
In the other early game, Benfica beat fellow former winners Red Star Belgrade 2-1 in Serbia thanks to Turkey duo Kerem Akturkoglu and Orkun Kokcu – the latter of whom dispatched a perfect free-kick.
Felício Milson pulled one back four minutes from time.
Later matches are Atletico Madrid v RB Leipzig, Atalanta v Arsenal, Monaco v Barcelona and European debutants Stade Brest v Sturm Graz.
The new format does away with the old groups and instead there is one league of 36 teams, with each club playing four sides at home and four different teams away.
Games have been played on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week to showcase the revamp, with the Europa League starting next week.
Wirtz brace on Champions League debut Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, a Champions League winner as a player with Liverpool and Real Madrid, presided over a stunning season last term in his first full campaign in charge.
This one has started well, albeit with a 3-2 loss against RB Leipzig, and his side raced into the lead at De Kuip when Wirtz fired home with his weaker left foot from the edge of the box.
At 21 years and 139 days, he became the second youngest Leverkusen player to net on his Champions League debut after Marko Babic and is the first German Champions League debutant to score twice. The Werkself were last in Europe’s premier club competition in 2022 in Alonso’s first months in charge but Wirtz was injured.
The visitors thought they had surrendered the advantage at 1-0 but Ramiz Zerrouki’s effort was flagged offside, despite suggestions the ball might have reached him via a Leverkusen player.
Leverkusen right wingback Frimpong, who scored his first Netherlands goal at Feyenoord’s stadium, then took centre stage.
His cross from near the byline was clipped in by opposite wingback Grimaldo, after Victor Boniface had played a magical fake pass in the build-up, as Leverkusen’s rampant style caught out the Rotterdamers.
A deeper Frimpong cross set up Wirtz for 3-0 on 36 minutes and Wellenreuther got himself in a tangle on the stroke of half-time after Edmund Tapsoba had hooked back a deep free-kick.
The new format has been developed to fight off threats of a Super League and to try to have more even matches between strong sides.
So far it has not gone to plan, especially with the German clubs. As well as Leverkusen’s easy away victory, Borussia Dortmund won 3-0 at Club Brugge on Wednesday and Bayern Munich battered Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 to top the early table on Tuesday, when VfB Stuttgart were unlucky to lose 3-1 late on at holders Real Madrid.
