In a seesaw encounter, Leverkusen and Wolfsburg were locked at 3-3 from the 48th minute. Wolfsburg were then reduced to 10 men in the dying stages when Yannick Gerhardt sunk his studs into Jeremie Frimpong's calf.

Boniface, who came on with 22 minutes remaining, collected a pass before pivoting on the spot and shooting home to snatch the German champions another late victory, providing a perfect boost ahead of next week's trip to Bayern Munich. Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka was far from pleased with the win, calling the result "a giant wake-up call - none of us can be satisfied with the game today.

"We can't keep going with performances like that. We can't defend so naively. Sure, we scored four but we can't do that every weekend." Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso had named a heavily changed line-up from the side which thrashed Feyenoord 4-0 in the Champions League on Thursday, giving Nordi Mukiele his starting debut.

However, Mukiele, signed on loan from French champions PSG, endured a nightmare start when he allowed the ball to bounce in off his thigh for a fifth-minute own goal. Florian Wirtz, who scored a brace on his Champions League debut on Thursday, drew Leverkusen level with a superb effort from outside the box shortly after.

Jonathan Tah headed the hosts ahead from a corner after 32 minutes but Leverkusen's joy was short-lived, with Wolfsburg's Sebastiaan Bornauw equalising five minutes later, jumping above Mukiele to head in from close range. Mattias Svanberg scored from the edge of the box on the counter for Wolfsburg before Leverkusen levelled again on 48 minutes through Piero Hincapie.

In breaking through for their debut Bundesliga title last season without losing a match Leverkusen dropped just 12 points but they appeared on course for a second setback after losing to RB Leipzig in their last home game. Boniface had other ideas and sliced the ball home in the third minute of injury time to keep Leverkusen three points behind league leaders Bayern, ahead of next week's clash in Munich.

Stuttgart soar, Dortmund disappoint

Days after going down 3-1 at Real Madrid in the Champions League, Stuttgart dominated a disappointing Dortmund at home thanks to a brace from Deniz Undav and goals from Ermedin Demirovic, Enzo Millot and El Bilal Toure. Dortmund had raided last season's surprise runners-up Stuttgart in the summer, signing captain Waldemar Anton and striker who had scored 28 goals in 28 league games.

Champions League finalists in June, Dortmund came into the match yet to lose this season but were 2-0 down in 21 minutes. Undav cut in on the break just four minutes in and Demirovic - Guirassy's replacement up front - headed in a second on the 21-minute mark. Millot, who like Undav upgraded his loan deal to a permanent move in the summer, tapped in after a corner to put Stuttgart in control.

Guirassy pulled a goal back with 15 minutes remaining, but Stuttgart scored twice in the closing stages through Bilal Toure and Undav to top off a dominant victory. Later on Sunday, promoted St Pauli are in search of their first points of the season when they host RB Leipzig.

September 22, 2024

S. Bornauw

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