Leverkusen rebound to beat Wolfsburg

Bayer Leverkusen got back to winning ways in the Bundesliga with a 3-1 win over Wolfsburg which takes them into a pack of teams chasing the top three and leaves the Wolves struggling on the back of their fifth defeat of the season. Gonzalo Castro gave Leverkusen the lead in the 14th minute, but Mario Mandzukic levelled for the visitors on the hour mark. Eren Derdiyok restored the home side's advantage five minutes later and Stefan Kiessling rounded off the win five minutes from time. The three points will be particularly welcome for Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt, who had moved into the firing line after heavy defeats by Cologne and Bayern Munich in their last two league matches. Leverkusen could have gone ahead in the 13th minute when Kiessling met Sidney Sam's cross with his head from point-blank range, but Diego Benaglio somehow managed to keep the ball out. There was nothing Wolfsburg's Swiss goalkeeper could do a minute later, though, as Castro took the ball round him and scored from a tight angle after Derdiyok and Kiessling crafted the opening. Fresh from his goal in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, Michael Ballack almost got his name on the scoresheet again, but his shot hit the post in the 38th minute. Benaglio then denied the former Germany captain with a fine save just before the interval. Leverkusen were punished for not adding to their early goal when Wolfsburg drew level in the 52nd minute. Marcel Schafer crossed to the far post from the goal-line and Mandzukic leapt to head in from close range. Their joy at equalising was short-lived, however, with the lively Derdiyok restoring Leverkusen's lead in spectacular fashion in the 65th minute. Derdiyok met Hanno Balitsch's cross with an acrobatic overhead kick that left Benaglio no chance. Kiessling then ended Wolfsburg's faint hopes of finding an equaliser, keeping his cool to beat Benaglio in a one-on-one situation after being put through by Simon Rolfes.