Right, nine goals at the BayArena. NINE. Bayer Leverkusen 6-3 VfL Wolfsburg and honestly... what did we just watch? This game had everything. Early sucker punch, a mad twelve-minute stretch before half time where the scoreline completely lost its mind, and then Kasper Hjulmand's side just... took over. Wolfsburg came here bottom half, in freefall, and for about fifteen minutes they genuinely looked like they might nick something. They didn't. They got absolutely walloped. Scenes.
Look, let's be honest about the first quarter of an hour. Wolfsburg were decent. J. Wind put them ahead on 16 minutes and suddenly the BayArena went very quiet. You could have got good money on Leverkusen being behind at half time at that point. But then... everything happened at once. Álex Grimaldo converted a penalty on 30 minutes to level it. One minute later, J. Mæhle, who had already been booked on 29 minutes don't forget, went and scored to make it 2-1 to Wolfsburg. Madness. Absolute madness. Then C. Eriksen slotted a penalty for the visitors on 38 minutes and it's 3-1 to Wolfsburg at that point. The away end must have been losing their minds. But Grimaldo wasn't done. He grabbed his second on 44 minutes to make it 3-2 going into the break. Five goals in fourteen first half minutes. Trust the process, lads. Trust the process.
| 16' Wind (Wolfsburg) | 0-1 |
| 30' Grimaldo pen (Leverkusen) | 1-1 |
| 31' Mæhle (Wolfsburg) | 1-2 |
| 38' Eriksen pen (Wolfsburg) | 1-3 |
| 44' Grimaldo (Leverkusen) | 2-3 |
| Half Time Score | 2-3 |
Honestly, the story of this game is the second half. Wolfsburg came here 17th in the table, 5 wins from 27 games, and their defensive record is genuinely horrific. 57 goals conceded before this one. When Leverkusen came out after the break with that bit of momentum from the Grimaldo goal, you just knew it was coming. P. Schick equalized with a penalty on 53 minutes to make it 3-3. Then E. Tapsoba put Leverkusen ahead on 68 minutes to make it 4-3., all in the space of nine minutes of the second period starting. E. Tapsoba, who had been booked in the first half which must have had everyone nervous, grabbed a goal on 68 minutes to make it 5-3. I. Maza added a sixth on 73 minutes. Game done. M. Tillman put the cherry on top in the 90th minute. Six. Six goals for Leverkusen in a nine goal thriller and they were 1-3 down at some point.
| 53' Schick pen (Leverkusen) | 4-3 |
| 68' Tapsoba (Leverkusen) | 5-3 |
| 73' Maza (Leverkusen) | 6-3 |
| 90' Tillman (Leverkusen) | 6-3 FT |
I actually looked at the numbers for once and they tell a very clear story. Leverkusen were dominant in possession, had 69% of the ball, and pumped 24 shots at goal. Wolfsburg managed 11. The shot locations are telling too. 17 of Leverkusen's shots came from inside the box. Wolfsburg managed 7 from inside the area. Look at the corners stat and it's basically a metaphor for the whole thing. 12 corners for Leverkusen. 2 for Wolfsburg. That is the corner stat average for these sides in the league by the way, not just today. That is genuinely the gap between these two clubs right now.
Expected Goals: BayArena Shootout: Bayer Leverkusen xG: 4.2, VfL Wolfsburg xG: 2.02
| Possession | 69% vs 31% |
| Total Shots | 24 vs 11 |
| Shots Inside Box | 17 vs 7 |
| Shots on Target | 11 vs 5 |
| Corner Kicks | 12 vs 2 |
| Total Passes | 622 vs 282 |
| Accurate Passes | 543 vs 214 |
| Yellow Cards | 1 vs 3 |
Álex Grimaldo, J. Mæhle, E. Tapsoba
Leverkusen go into this win from 6th in the table on 46 points from 27 matches. Their form coming in was DDDWD which, look at the fixtures, does not suggest a team about to bang six past anyone. So this is a big performance. Their home record this season is now 7 wins, 3 draws, and 3 defeats from 13 home games, This adds six more. Their overall record stands at 13 wins, 7 draws, and 7 defeats. Goal difference sits at plus 16 going into this one. Kasper Hjulmand will be pleased. Wolfsburg on the other hand... where do you even start. They are 17th. 21 points from 27 games. 5 wins, 6 draws, 16 losses. Their away record is 3 wins, 3 draws, and 7 defeats from 13 away matches, with only 15 goals scored on the road this season. 57 goals conceded overall, goal difference sitting at minus 22. Daniel Bauer has a proper job on his hands. Their last five results before today read LDLLL. Coming here was never going to be easy but even by their standards, conceding six at the BayArena is a nightmare.
| Leverkusen Position | 6th |
| Leverkusen Points | 46 from 27 |
| Leverkusen Record | 13W-7D-7L |
| Wolfsburg Position | 17th |
| Wolfsburg Points | 21 from 27 |
| Wolfsburg Record | 5W-6D-16L |
| Wolfsburg Goals Conceded | 57 |
| Wolfsburg Form | LDLLL |
Right, let's talk about the penalties because this game had three of them. Grimaldo scored from the spot for Leverkusen on 30 minutes. Eriksen converted one for Wolfsburg on 38 minutes, in a passage of play that also saw a yellow card given to an unknown Wolfsburg player at the same minute. Then Schick tucked away Leverkusen's second penalty on 53 minutes. Three spot kicks in one game. Honestly the referee had quite the evening. The yellows tell their own story too. Leverkusen collected 2 yellow cards during the game — one to E. Tapsoba in the first half and one to an unknown player on 72 minutes. Wolfsburg picked up 3, with another to an unidentified player. Mæhle was booked on 29 minutes and then scored on 31 minutes which is just... chef's kiss levels of chaos. Koulierakis added another for the visitors on 55 minutes and Vavro got one on 71. Disciplined Leverkusen were not, getting a yellow to an unknown player on 72, but they were a lot calmer than the visitors.
Look, the xG for this game was 4.2 for Leverkusen and 2.02 for Wolfsburg. For the record, xG is that thing where football gets measured like it is a science experiment and everyone argues about it online... anyway, even by those numbers Leverkusen were the better team by miles. But we have to be honest about Wolfsburg's first half. They genuinely had Leverkusen rattled for a spell. Three goals, a period where they led 3-1, and you could see why the books had this at around 1.40 for Leverkusen pre-match. That is what football gives you sometimes. A relegation-threatened side with nothing to lose can cause proper problems. The second half told the real story though. Leverkusen's quality, their possession, their constant pressure... Wolfsburg simply could not live with it. Six goals in a home win and honestly? Limbs in the BayArena. Don't @ me but I reckon this is the most fun game I've watched this Bundesliga season. Nine goals, three penalties, a comeback from being 3-1 down. You heard it here first: Kasper Hjulmand's side absolutely love a dramatic afternoon.