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Moritz Jenz was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 28th minute at BayArena before Nathan Tella nodded the hosts into a first-half lead.

Wolfsburg did well to defend despite being a man down for the majority of the match, but was under pressure throughout a second half in which it always felt like a second goal for the hosts would come.

They left it late, but Wirtz netted in the 86th minute to ensure Leverkusen extended its unbeaten run to 36 matches across all competitions.

There were a handful of early opportunities for both sides, but it was the hosts who dominated possession and nearly took the lead after 22 minutes when Granit Xhaka played in Wirtz, who rattled the base of the post with his attempt.

Cedric Zesiger came close for Wolfsburg soon after, forcing Lukas Hradecky to tip the volleyed effort over the crossbar.

The visitors were down to 10 men when Jenz, booked earlier for a shirt pull on Wirtz, was sent off in the 28th minute for treading on the foot of Patrik Schick.

Leverkusen opened the scoring nine minutes later after some fine work by Alex Grimaldo, whose pinpoint delivery allowed Tella to nod home from point-blank range.

The hosts piled on more pressure and were unrelenting after the break, when Wolfsburg boss Niko Kovac rang two early changes as his side tried to make Leverkusen’s life difficult with some solid defending and the occasional promising venture into the hosts’ final third.

Koen Casteels did well to deny substitute Jonas Hoffman from extending Leverkusen’s lead shortly after his 76th-minute introduction, but could not stop Wirtz from settling the game four minutes from full-time.

A lovely long ball from Exequiel Palacios put Wirtz in a perfect position to finish with the inside of his foot at the near post and seal victory.