Elversberg stun Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 on Bundesliga debut
Newly promoted Elversberg beat pre-match odds of 17.9% to defeat Leverkusen, scoring the fastest opening two goals by Bundesliga debutants since 1993.
Elversberg beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 on their Bundesliga debut on Saturday, a result that had been given little chance of happening. Pre-match models gave the Saarland side a win probability of just 17.9 per cent.
Five years ago Elversberg were playing in the fourth tier. Seven of their starting XI on Saturday were making their first Bundesliga appearance, and the other four had a combined 25 top-flight outings between them.
None of that showed in the opening exchanges. Lukas Petkov and Cole Campbell scored inside nine minutes to put Elversberg two goals up, the fastest a set of Bundesliga debutants have managed the feat. The previous mark, 17 minutes, had stood since VfB Leipzig set it in 1993.
Elversberg finished with three goals from an xGoals reading of just 1.35, beating Mark Flekken in the Leverkusen goal three times. The scoreline extended a pattern: at professional level, Elversberg had never lost on an opening matchday, taking two wins and three draws across the Bundesliga 2 and 3. Liga.
Campbell, 20, joined from Borussia Dortmund over the summer and was, by some distance, the most seasoned player on the pitch for the newly promoted side. He arrives with 10 prior Bundesliga appearances, split between Dortmund and a loan spell at Hoffenheim in the second half of last season.
A result of this kind on the opening weekend does little on its own, but it puts early pressure on Leverkusen, who came into the campaign as one of the sides expected to challenge near the top, and gives Elversberg a platform that few gave them a chance of building in their first season among the elite.
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