Hegeler delighted with last minute free-kick winner

Jens Hegeler was thrilled with his last-gasp free-kick that gave Bayer Leverkusen a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad in the UEFA Champions League.

Simon Rolfes had given the hosts the lead in first-half stoppage time before Carlos Vela equalised for the Liga side, tucking home the rebound from his own saved penalty six minutes after the restart.

It looked as though both sides would have to settle for a draw, but substitute Hegeler stepped up in the second minute of stoppage time to curl the ball home to secure Leverkusen’s first points in Group A.

And Hegeler, who was only introduced in the 84th minute, was delighted to have scored such an important goal.

“Scoring a goal like that in the 90th minute is a huge deal for me,” he said.

“There weren’t many free-kick takers left on the pitch and three or four weeks ago I scored a similar free-kick in a friendly match so I just thought I could do it again.

“I think that was my first free-kick goal in a competitive match. I’ve practiced these things in training but you don’t have any pressure in those situations.”

Meanwhile, Leverkusen’s sporting director Rudi Voller paid tribute to Hegeler’s special match-winning ability.

“Sometimes he has moments in his game, where he appears to make the impossible, possible,” he said.