Match Events:
On one of the most entertaining matchdays in the German top flight, every fan who has watched the game between Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg at the Bay Arena or elsewhere have got their moneya s worth. Everyone expected that Dieter Hecking would take away an easy win with the scoreline in the Bay Arena reading 3:0 at half-time. Two goals from Bas Dost and a curling free kick from centre-back Naldo gave Wolfsburg a huge advantage. Leverkusena s defence was picked apart everytime Wolfsburga s front three had the ball, and their attack lacked proper penetration. But once the second half kicked off, Leverkusen turned the game around on its head. Suddenly it was the Wolves defence which was looking lost in the midst of the home sidesa sudden onslaught.
And for the next 15 minutes or so, Roger Schmidta s men brought in wave after wave of attacks in which Heung-Min Son scored the inevitable goal when he poked the ball home between Diego Benaglioa s legs from a poorly controlled save. The South Korean forward scored his second in the 62nd minute when he rounded off the Wolfsburga s defence and Benaglio who came rushing out of his line to clear the ball . But Dost quickly completed his hattrick a minute later scoring from a quick counter attack to make the score 4-2 which looked to have sealed the game for the Wolves. But the home side had different ideas when Son capitalized on poor clearance from the Wolfsburga s defence of a Leverkusen corner to complete his own hattrick. Karim Bellarabi then got the equalizer to take the already electric atmosphere in the stadium to a fever pitch. From there on it was end-to-end stuff as there was plenty of goal mouth action to savour. But Wolfsburg had the last laugh following Emir Spahica s second yellow card of the evening and Bas Dost tapping in the winning goal in the third minute of stoppage time. Lets look at the talking points that have been surrounding this highly dramatic result of this top table clash.
Bas Dost Is Starting To Share Responsibilities:
Kevin De Bruyne has been so far the star man for Wolfsburg shouldering all the attacking responsibility on his own which only touched new heights after the start of the Ruckrunde, but now Bas Dost has started to operate at the same level as the Belgian. Slowly but surely the Dutchmen and the Belgian are evolving into a deadly duo just like Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery have been for Bayern in the 2012-13 season. Dost has scored 9 goals this season, out of which 7 goals have come in the last 4 matches. Ivica Olica s move to Hamburg SV seems to have worked for Dost as his game is improving match after match. With Leverkusen staging an unlikely second half comeback it seemed as if the reduced gap between the Wolves and Bayern would be again extended with the Bavarians hitting Hamburg for 8 goals. But their strikera s last-minute heroics have saved them. The coach and the 25-year old both looked pumped up with the last gasp win as they celebrated by chest bumps right after the final whistle. The first-leg of the Last 32 clash of Europa League against Sporting is on this Thursday and Hecking can be confident about the teama s progression to the next round. The win against Bayern has clearly done wonders to Wolfsburga s confidence.
The Defining Moment of Leverkusena s Campaign:
Bayer Leverkusen entered saturdaya s clash, low on confidence and the three first half goals could have demolished the morale of any team in such position. But Roger Schmidta s team staged a remarkable comeback in the second half and were unlucky to lose the match after such a daring fightback against a team in top-form. From this point onwards the season could either way for Die Werkself. If this performance can resurrect the teama s confidence they could well go on to clinch the 3rd automatic qualification spot for the Champions League like the previous season and that would definitely make the European race more interesting. Lars Bendera s injury and Hakan Calhanoglua s ineffectiveness in the first half will definitely worry the the 2002 Champions League finalists. But Sona s hattrick could be one of those positive things to be taken from this match. If the air of disappointment hangs around Leverkusena s dressing room, it could turnout to be another slide from the top for the Bay Arena club.