The Wolves left Leverkusen with a share of the spoils following a 2-2 draw at the BayArena. Moussa Diaby fired the home side in front (17’) but Robert Andrich’s own goal (28’) put the Green-and-Whites back on level terms. Maximilian Arnold’s penalty gave the visitors the lead nine minutes into the second half before Jeremy Frimpong restored parity once more 14 minutes from time.
The result extends VfL’s unbeaten run to five games in all competitions, although they missed the chance to claim a fifth successive victory at the BayArena. The Wolves are back in action on Saturday 29 October, when they welcome VfL Bochum to the Volkswagen Arena on Matchday 12 (15:30 CEST).
Reaction
Niko Kovac: “You could tell that there was a lot at stake in this game. There weren’t a lot of highlights and both teams struggled to get going. At the end of the day the result is OK. We came under pressure in the second half because Leverkusen switched to a 4-4-2, precisely because they wanted to apply more pressure – which they did successfully. We were 2-1 up and wanted to see the result over the line. Having said that, I’m satisfied with the point. Other teams will come here and they won’t come away with anything.”
Xabi Alonso: “We knew it would be a difficult game. Wolfsburg play with a lot of energy but we did well in the first half in particular, and we were satisfied up until we scored the own goal. But we kept going and it was very important that we kept our structure after Wolfsburg’s second goal. We’re neither happy nor sad about picking up a point. The performance was positive.”
Goals
1-0 Diaby (17’): Diaby plays a simple one-two with Adam Hlozek to carve open the VfL defence before firing low beyond Koen Casteels.
1-1 Andrich (28’, own goal): The Wolves equalise with their first real attack. Ridle Baku is given space to fizz a low cross into the box, where Andrich sends an attempted clearance into his own net.
1-2 Arnold (54’, penalty): VfL are awarded a spot-kick following Edmond Tapsoba’s mistimed tackle on Lukas Nmecha and Arnold makes no mistake to give the visitors the lead.
2-2 Frimpong (76’): Daley Sinkgraven embarks on a solo run before trying his luck from the edge of the box. The ball falls to Frimpong, who levels the scores.
Line-ups and stats
Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Hradecky – Kossounou (70‘ Fosu-Mensah) , Tah, Tapsoba – Frimpong, Andrich, Demirbay (60’ Amiri), Bakker (70’ Sinkgraven)– Diaby, Adli (82’ Paulinho) – Hlozek (61’ Hudson-Odoi)
Subs: Lomb (GK), Lunev (TW), Sertdemir, Azhil
VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Baku, Bornauw (90’ Lacroix), van de Ven, Otavio – Arnold, F. Nmecha – Gerhardt (72’ Guilavogui), Paredes (72’ Svanberg), Kaminski – Marmoush (72’ Wind)
Subs: Pervan (GK), Fischer, Roussillon, Brekalo, L. Nmecha
Goals: 1-0 Diaby (17’), 1-1 Andrich (28’, own goal), 1-2 Arnold (54’, pen), 2-2 Frimpong (76’)
Yellow cards: Tah, Andrich / F. Nmecha
Referee: Felix Brych (Munich)
Attendance: 26,294 at BayArena
