Bayer Leverkusen battled back into Champions League contention on Friday with a 3-0 victory over VfL Wolfsburg, who saw their own hopes of European football next season severely dented with six matches left.
Leverkusen's Karim Bellarabi jumps for the ball during the German
Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg in
Leverkusen, Germany on Apr 1, 2016. (Photo: AP/Martin Meissner)
BERLIN: Bayer Leverkusen battled back into Champions League
contention on Friday with a 3-0 victory over VfL Wolfsburg, who saw
their own hopes of European football next season severely dented with
six matches left.
Teenager Julian Brandt fired in after 27 minutes and Mexican Javier Hernandez stunned the visitors with a cleverly curled shot.
Talented Ukrainian Vladen Yurchenko made it 3-0 in the 87th
minute with a crisp drive for his first goal with the German club, who
recorded their third win in a row and moved into fourth spot on 45
points, three off third-placed Hertha Berlin.
Wolfsburg, facing Real Madrid in the Champions League last
eight next week, were toothless once again, having now scored only once
in their last three league matches to stay stuck in eighth on 38, four
off the European spots.
Hakan Calhanoglu came close to adding a second goal for the hosts a
minute after the restart but his low drive, from a well-timed Brandt
back flick, sailed narrowly wide.
Hernandez then pounced on a defensive error but failed to
beat keeper Diego Benaglio in their one-on-one. He was flawless in his
execution in the 74th, however, curling a shot past the Swiss from the
edge of the box for his 15th goal of the campaign.
Wolfsburg, last season's runners' up and German Cup winner,
had to wait for almost an hour for their first shot on goal, despite the
inclusion of forward Max Kruse, who had been thrown out of the German
squad days ago following several off-the-pitch incidents in recent
months.
They have managed just two wins in their last seven league matches.
Leaders Bayern Munich on 69 points, host Eintracht Frankfurt
on Saturday while Borussia Dortmund, in second place five points
behind, entertain Werder Bremen.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
- Reuters
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