VfL Wolfsburg’s winless home streak, which dates back to January, stretched to 15 matches after a 3–1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen at the Volkswagen Arena. The result also extended Die Werkself’s unbeaten run against Wolfsburg to eight Bundesliga meetings.

Only runaway leaders Bayern Munich had collected more points than Leverkusen in the first eight games under Kasper Hjulmand, and after firing five first-half goals past Heidenheim before the international break, the visitors showed the same clinical edge early on here.

Leverkusen opened the scoring inside 10 minutes thanks to sharp interplay on the left between Ernest Poku and Alejandro Grimaldo. The Spaniard’s low cutback found its way to the far post, where Jonas Hofmann calmly guided the ball into the opposite corner—his second goal in two games.

Wolfsburg initially responded with purpose, and Mark Flekken had to tip Lovro Majer’s long-range effort around the post to preserve the lead. But the hosts’ failure to capitalise was punished ruthlessly. Edmond Tapsoba met an exquisite delivery from Aleix Garcia with a towering header to double the advantage, and minutes later Malik Tillman timed his run perfectly to break the offside trap and slot past Kamil Grabara, giving Leverkusen a commanding 3–0 cushion by the 30-minute mark.

Interim coach Daniel Bauer had no shortage of concerns at halftime, particularly his team’s bluntness in front of goal—highlighted again when Flekken denied Majer after a costly turnover by Ibrahim Maza deep in his own half.

Wolfsburg carved out more opportunities after the restart, with Flekken producing a succession of saves to frustrate Konstantinos Koulierakis and Dzenan Pejcinovic, before Mohamed Amoura volleyed wide. Their pressure was finally rewarded when Denis Vavro, making his first appearance of the season, powered in a header from Maximilian Arnold’s swinging corner.

Poku then squandered a golden chance to restore Leverkusen’s three-goal lead, and the miss looked significant when Jonas Wind tucked the ball home shortly after entering the match. However, VAR ruled the effort out for a marginal offside. Still Wolfsburg pushed, forcing Flekken into further action to stop a thunderous long-range strike from Arnold and a crisp volley from Wind.

Thanks largely to their goalkeeper’s resilience, Leverkusen were able to manage the final stages comfortably, securing a win that lifts them into second place in the Bundesliga and provides an ideal response to the end of their 37-game unbeaten away run at Bayern. Wolfsburg, meanwhile, face the prospect of slipping into the relegation zone after falling to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.