Leverkusen completes an obligatory task against Wolfsburg

Unaffected by Bayern's thumping victory, league leaders Leverkusen clinched their next Bundesliga win against Wolfsburg. Nathan Tella (37th place) and Florian Wirtz (86th place) scored the goals in Sunday's (March 10, 2024) victory over Wolfsburg with a score of 2-0 (1-0), which came after the red yellow against Moritz Jens (28th place). ) were outnumbered early.

Even after 25 match days, Bayer 04 Leverkusen remains ten points ahead of rivals Bayern Munich. Wolfsburg is now waiting to win ten matches in the German League and is getting closer to the relegation position in 13th place with 25 points.

“The match ended after the red card.” Wolfsburg coach Niko Kovac told Sportschau. “We defended well even when we were outnumbered, but you can't judge the 60 minutes anymore. It's difficult against Leverkusen with 11 men. It's very difficult with 10 men.”

Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky said after a busy evening: “Things are going well at the moment. We are not putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves. We are enjoying our football and fighting until the last minute.”

Wirtz just hits the post

Niko Kovac had his team playing very defensively against favorites Leverkusen. With a string of five and a row of four in front of them, Wolfsburg tried not to offer any openings for the hosts. This worked well at first. Leverkusen were in control, but were not dangerous – even if Florian Wirtz hit the post after a run from the left half in a one-on-one against goalkeeper Koen Casteels (22nd).

Wolfsburg played sparsely forward, but scored a powerful goal thanks to Zissinger's shot (25th minute). However, when Jens received a yellow and red card for his second foul in less than a quarter of an hour, the visitors fell back even further. “I think Moritz should stay out because he has already received a yellow card.” Kovac said. He took striker Jonas Wind off the field and brought on defender Sebastian Bornau.

Teela heads to the place

Leverkusen remained patient and then struck. Alex Grimaldo moved to the baseline on the left. Tella moved from the outside, stood free in the middle, and headed Grimaldo's cross into the goal to take the lead.

In the second half, Wolfsburg gathered all its strength in front of its team's penalty area. Leverkusen increased its possession of the ball to more than 70 percent, but often lacked the speed to open a gap towards goal. It happened shortly before the end, but it was great. Exequiel Palacios sent the ball over the defense and into the path of Wirtz, who scored the winner with a stunning shot from seven meters over the left post.

Leverkusen will now face Qarabag-Ajdam at home in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie on Thursday (14 March 2024, 9pm kick-off) after a 2-2 draw in Azerbaijan. In the Bundesliga, we go to Freiburg on Sunday (3:30 p.m.). Wolfsburg actually host newly promoted FC Augsburg on Saturday (3:30pm).