Ridle Baku Wolfsburg's match-winner against top-four rivals Bayer Leverkusen
Ridle Baku scored the only goal of the game as Wolfsburg climbed into the top four with victory over fellow UEFA Champions League place hopefuls Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 Wolfsburg
Goals: 0-1 Baku (35')
Buoyed by their midweek victory over Borussia Dortmund, Leverkusen flew out of the traps. Nadiem Amiri slipped Lars Bender’s ball past Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels inside three minutes, but Maxence Lacroix was able to clear off the line and prevent Lucas Alario from burying the follow-up. Amiri shot wide and Alario headed a Moussa Diaby cross against the woodwork, before Wolfsburg threatened a breakthrough of their own through Renato Steffen’s fierce strike across goal. Casteels pushed a close-range Alario header over the crossbar midway through an action-packed first half, shaded by Wolfsburg thanks to Baku’s cool-headed opener from Steffen’s even cooler clipped pass into the area.
Leverkusen newcomer Timothy Fosu-Mensah entered the fray at the start of the second period for his Bundesliga debut. Die Werkself continued to make moves in the final third, but John Brooks & Co. largely kept the home side at arm’s length. Dictating the tempo, Wolfsburg almost doubled their lead past the hour when Xaver Schlager played in Wout Weghorst. The Dutchman had scored in three successive matches, but couldn’t squeeze his effort past a spread-eagle Lukas Hradecky. Bayer met similar resistance with their only meaningful effort after the restart as Casteels flung himself at Daley Sinkgraven's stinging strike to preserve three vital points in the race for a top-four finish.
Match stats
- Wolfsburg recorded their eighth league win of the season (D8, L2).
- Leverkusen haven't beaten Wolfsburg at home in the Bundesliga in five attempts (D2, L3) since their last league win over the Wolves in April, 2016.
- Baku scored his sixth Bundesliga goal, but the first with his head. He has scored as many times in 16 Bundesliga outings for Wolfsburg as in 50 for former club Mainz.
- Casteels is the first Wolfsburg goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet away to Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
- Bender made his 225th Bundesliga appearance, as many as twin brother, Sven.
- Jonathan Tah made his 200th competitive appearance as a Leverkusen player.
Watch: Ridle Baku - "I'm no powerhouse in the air"
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Line-ups
Leverkusen: Hradecky - L. Bender (Fosu-Mensah 46'), Tah (Bellarabi 74'), Tapsoba, Sinkgraven - Wirtz, Aranguiz (c) (Baumgartlinger 74') (Wendell 81'), Amiri (Demirbay 74') - Bailey, Alario, Diaby
Unused subs: Lomb, Dragovic, Jedvaj, Gedikli
Out: Arias (ankle), S. Bender (knee), Paulinho (knee), Schick (not included), Weiser (thigh)
Coach: Peter Bosz
Wolfsburg: Casteels (c) - Mbabu, Lacroix, Brooks, Otavio - Schlager (Bialek 90'+5), Arnold - Baku (Guilavogui 83'), Gerhardt, Steffen (Brekalo 61') - Weghorst
Unused subs: Pervan, Mehmedi, Philipp, Pongracic, Siersleben, Victor
Out: Bruma (not included), Roussillon (not included)
Coach: Oliver Glasner
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