Wolfsburg come from behind twice to draw at Bayer Leverkusen
Wolfsburg recorded a fourth consecutive draw under new coach Martin Schmidt on Matchday 8, twice coming from behind to take a point with a battling display at Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Wolfsburg
Goals: 1-0 L. Bender (29'), 1-1 Origi (44'), 2-1 Alario (61'), 2-2 Blaszczykowski (69')
With attacking trio Lucas Alario, Leon Bailey and Kevin Volland in tandem, it was little surprise to see Leverkusen dominate the opening exchanges. Heiko Herrlich's side were confident in possession and began creating chances from the quarter-hour mark, Paul Verhaegh at one point forced into a goal-line clearance from Lars Bender. The midfielder was not to be denied when the next opportunity arose, however, firing past Koen Casteels from close range after Wolfsburg failed to deal with a Bailey corner. A goal to the good and cruising, Bayer should have added to the lead, but instead Wolfsburg levelled against the run of play, Divock Origi rising highest to meet Verhaegh's cross on the stroke of half-time.
Undeterred by the Wolfsburg equaliser, Leverkusen were again the brighter side after the restart. Herrlich's troops were full of brio going forward, with Julian Brandt coming close from distance before Alario deservedly put the hosts back in front on the hour mark, directing Wendell's low cross from the left past Casteels. As in the first period, however, Leverkusen eased off after going ahead and Wolfsburg levelled again, Jakub Blaszczykowski latching onto Daniel Didavi's through-ball and finishing expertly from the edge of the box. Bayer pushed for a third goal late on, but their inability to hold onto the lead proved costly and the Wolves held on to record a valuable point.
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Man of the match
Origi was a real threat up top for the Wolves, his second Bundesliga goal deserved reward for a display in which he harried and pressed the Bayer back four relentlessly.
Watch: Origi is loving life in the Bundesliga!
Line-ups
Leverkusen: Leno – Retsos, Tah, S. Bender, Wendell – L. Bender (Baumgartlinger, 70'), Volland, Kohr (Havertz, 74') – Bailey, Alario, Brandt (Pohjanpalo, 84')
Coach: Heiko Herrlich
Wolfsburg: Casteels – Verhaegh, Tisserand, Uduokhai, Gerhardt – Guilavogui (Didavi, 65'), Camacho – Arnold – Blaszczykowski (Dimata, 71'), Origi (Osimhen, 84'), Malli
Coach: Martin Schmidt
Match stats
- Verhaegh is the fourth Wolfsburg player to have cleared off the line this season, no other club has had more players do so.Bender's goal was his first since April 2016, in a 2-1 win against Hertha Berlin.Origi's goal was his second in the Bundesliga and his first away from home.Ten different players have scored for Leverkusen this season; only Bayern can boast more goalscorers.Both of Alario's Bundesliga goals have come at the BayArena.Blaszczykowski's goal was his first in 35 competitive games for Wolfsburg; the Pole's last goal came 1,450 days ago, for Borussia Dortmund against Schalke.Brandt, who won the junior Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, joined Leverkusen from the Wolves in January 2014.
Watch: Alario discusses his frustration after Leverkusen twice threw away the lead