Super Eagles and Bayer 04 Leverkusen attacker, Nathan Tella, was delighted to open his Bundesliga account for the season in his side's 3-2 win against Borussia Dortmund, Soccernet.ng reports.
Robert Andrich capitalized on some poor passing by Dortmund defenders at the back and immediately teed up Tella who volleyed the ball into Gregor Kobel's goal inside 25 seconds.
Patrik Schick doubled the lead for Die Werkself eight minutes later after some brilliant work down the left hand side by Piero Hincapie. In a highly charged affair, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens pulled a goal back for Dortmund four minutes later, delicately chipping the ball over Lukas Hradecky.
Seven minutes later, Schick scored again, this time, from a Jeremie Frimpong cross, before Serhou Guirassy reduced the deficit for the home side in the 79th minute from the penalty spot.
Speaking after the game, Tella was delighted to have found the back of the net for Xabi Alonso's side, revealing their intent prior to the game.
“Obviously, first game back in the new year, we wanted to start as we mean to go in the duration of the season. To score is nice, but more importantly, to win is even better,” the former Burnley man said in an interview with B04.
NATHAN TELLA SCORES JUST 24 SECONDS INTO THE MATCH FOR LEVERKUSEN pic.twitter.com/0w4YWv0osb
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 10, 2025
Asked whether the goal against Nuri Sahin's Dortmund was the quickest career goal he's scored, Tella said;
“I'm not sure, I think I scored on in the first minute as well at Burnley, but this one is even better, so, I'll remember this one more.
“Dortmund are a top-quality team with top-quality individuals and they're very good, but we knew if we stuck with our game plan and principles, we'll make it as difficult as we can for them and thankfully, we were able to get the win which is the main thing.”
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Despite playing in front of Europe's fiercest crowd, the Leverkusen fans at the away end of the Signal Park made sure their voices were heard, and this pleased the 25-year-old versatile attacker.
“It's amazing, from the moment we came to warm up, they've been as loud. This season, even when we weren't at our best, they've supported us in the way they did last year and it's brilliant. It gives us all confidence and all support,” the former Arsenal man concluded.
Leverkusen are now back in the Bundesliga title race after winning nine consecutive games across all competitions. They're currently second on the league table, one point behind Bayern Munich who have a game in hand.
