Leverkusen wins nine-goal thriller over Wolfsburg
Bayer Leverkusen kept its hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League on track as it came out on top in a nine-goal epic with Wolfsburg to win 6-3 in the Bundesliga.
Kasper Hjulmand's side was two goals down in the first half, but turned on the style after the interval to stay two points behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig.
Jonas Wind gave Wolfsburg a 16th-minute lead, latching on to Konstantinos Koulierakis's defensive header before finishing past Mark Flekken, but Leverkusen drew level on the half-hour mark through Alejandro Grimaldo, who dispatched a penalty after Joakim Maehle needlessly bundled over Ibrahim Maza inside the area.
However, Maehle immediately atoned for his error 61 seconds later, with his stunning first-time finish straight from kick-off whistling past Flekken to restore Wolfsburg's advantage.
Wolfsburg then pulled further clear with a spot-kick of its own seven minutes later after Edmond Tapsoba kicked through the back of Mohammed Amoura, allowing Christian Eriksen to step up and score from 12 yards out.
The goals kept on coming in a pulsating opening 45 minutes as Leverkusen reduced the deficit through Grimaldo, who notched his second with a low shot past Kamil Grabara.
Referee Martin Petersen then pointed to the spot for a third time eight minutes into the second half. Sael Kumbedi brought down Nathan Tella, with half-time substitute Patrik Schick scoring the resulting penalty.
Leverkusen took the lead for the first time in the 68th minute when Tapsoba picked out the bottom-right corner after Wolfsburg failed to deal with the loose ball in its own box.
Ibrahim Maza squeezed his effort under Grabara after being found by Exequiel Palacios, with Malik Tillman sealing the win in the 96th minute from close range after he was teed up sensationally following Ernest Poku's mazy run.
