SV Elversberg are living the dream after a fully deserved win over Bayer Leverkusen in the club’s first-ever Bundesliga match. Die Elv began with real confidence and then struck just a minute into the second half.

David Mokwa created the first opening of the game before Mark Flekken was called into action for the first time to save Cole Campbell’s effort. Club captain Lukas Petkov, who had missed last week’s Pokal tie because of suspension, scored Elversberg’s first Bundesliga goal in the eighth minute.

Leverkusen loanee Francis Onyeka, who scored twice in the 3-1 win over 3. Liga side Duisburg, also played a key role here by setting up the opener against his parent club. The Germany Under-19 captain won the ball from Leverkusen’s new captain Edmond Tapsoba, and Petkov’s deflected shot put the Bundesliga’s 59th club on the scoresheet.

While the television broadcast was still showing replays of that historic goal, Elversberg struck again. American attacker Campbell doubled the lead with a fierce finish after Tapsoba’s second mistake within seconds. The 20-year-old joined the newly promoted side after Hoffenheim chose not to make his loan move from Dortmund permanent.

Campbell had another chance in what was a dream first half for Elversberg, while Leverkusen, who had parted ways with Erik ten Hag after just two games last season, suffered another poor start to a campaign. Flekken could have done better on the second goal, but he responded well by keeping the score down with solid saves from Onyeka and Felix Keidel.

Aleix Garcia had scored directly from a free-kick the last time these sides met in the DFB-Pokal, and he nearly repeated it here, only for his deflected effort to crash against the crossbar. Afonso Moreira, who became the first Portuguese player in Leverkusen’s history, then missed a sitter from the rebound.

Die Elv quickly regained control after the break as Mokwa, who scored the goal that sealed the club’s promotion at the end of last season, netted his first Bundesliga goal with an excellent finish from Petkov’s cutback.

Patrik Schick scored his 92nd Bundesliga goal to revive Leverkusen’s hopes when he diverted Ibrahim Maza’s shot in the right direction. The Czechia international had been playing alongside Christian Kofane since the 55th minute, and the Cameroonian striker cut the deficit further with a neat finish in the first minute of stoppage time.

Victor Boniface was also introduced as Leverkusen added more firepower and threw everything forward in a late push for a point. However, Vincent Wagner’s team held firm to seal a memorable beginning to life in the Bundesliga.