VfL Wolfsburg fullback Ricardo Rodriguez scored twice and set up another goal as they beat 10-man Bayer 04 Leverkusen 4-1 on Sunday to end their visitors’ unbeaten league run this season.
Leverkusen, who also lost their UEFA Champions League group opener at AS Monaco in midweek, suffered a nightmare start with Giulio Donati sent off for bringing down Junior Malanda in the penalty area after eight minutes.
The 22-year-old pony-tailed Rodriguez sent goalkeeper Bernd Leno the wrong way from the penalty spot and Kevin de Bruyne came close to doubling their lead when he hit the post in the 22th minute with Leverkusen’s defense in complete disarray.
Photo: Reuters
Forward Josip Drmic did well to control the ball following a deep cross from Leno and slot in against the run of play as Leverkusen temporarily equalized.
However, Wolfsburg’s superiority and pressure against error-prone opponents quickly paid off, with Rodriguez chipping a cross to the far post for Vieirinha to head in on the stroke of halftime.
Switzerland international Rodriguez kept his best piece of skill until last and in the 63rd minute drilled in a dazzling left-footed volley from a De Bruyne corner that left Leno frozen to the spot.
Substitute Aaron Hunt completed the rout with a low drive nine minutes from time as 11th-placed Wolfsburg bounced back from their 4-1 demolition by Everton in the UEFA Europa League last week.
“We knew it would be hard, and the red card and 0-1 really made it very complicated for us,” Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt said.
“Our young team had to deal with the situation and you could see that even with a man down we had our chance, but after going down 3-1 we could do nothing any more,” he said.
In the other game on Sunday, Borussia Moenchengladbach had possession, but failed to break down a compact Cologne, who became the only team to have yet to concede a goal in four league games this season after their 0-0 draw in the Rhine derby.
Promoted SC Paderborn 07 are surprisingly top of the table on eight points following their 2-0 home win over Hannover 96 on Saturday.
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