Nobody Saw This Coming: Tiny Elversberg Stun Leverkusen In Historic Bundesliga Debut

Atletico Madrid moved past the uncertainty surrounding Julian Alvarez with a convincing 3-1 victory over Sevilla, while newly promoted Elversberg produced one of the biggest surprises of the European football weekend by defeating Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 in their first-ever Bundesliga match.

Alvarez was absent from Atletico's squad amid an ongoing transfer saga involving reported interest from Barcelona. Atletico have insisted the Argentina forward will not be sold, but he missed much of the team's training during the week. His absence did not affect Atletico's attacking display.

Alex Baena scored twice and Ademola Lookman added another as Atletico raced into a 3-0 halftime lead. Sevilla pulled one back after the break but could not prevent Atletico from securing a comfortable win.

In Germany, Elversberg marked their historic Bundesliga debut with a thrilling victory over the 2024 champions. Lukas Petkov and American forward Cole Campbell scored inside the opening nine minutes before David Mokwa extended the hosts' advantage shortly after halftime.

Leverkusen launched a late comeback through Patrik Schick, who scored with a backheel in the 77th minute. Christian Kofane then struck in stoppage time, but Elversberg held on for a memorable win.

The result underlined Elversberg's remarkable rise. The club, based in a town of around 13,000 people, were playing in Germany's fourth tier as recently as 2022 before earning promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time.

Elsewhere, Tottenham's troubled start continued as Newcastle secured a 2-0 victory in London. Despite their reported $400 million summer spending, Spurs remain without a point or a goal.

Liverpool also remained winless after being held to a 2-2 draw by Nottingham Forest at Anfield, while Fiorentina suffered another heavy defeat, losing 3-0 at home to Frosinone.

In France, Florian Thauvin scored his 100th Ligue 1 goal, although Strasbourg defeated Lens 2-1.