Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga title hopes suffered another setback after a goalless draw with Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena, where Die Wölfe failed to score for the sixth time in their last seven home meetings with Leverkusen.
Following a gruelling 120-minute DFB-Pokal quarter-final against Cologne earlier in the week, Leverkusen’s manager Xabi Alonso made several changes to the lineup.
However, his side struggled to find rhythm early on, appearing fatigued in the opening stages.
Wolfsburg thought they had taken the lead within seven minutes when Konstantinos Koulierakis headed in from a well-delivered free-kick, only for VAR to rule the goal out for offside, denying him his maiden Bundesliga strike.
Genuine opportunities were rare in the first half. Nordi Mukiele squandered Leverkusen’s best chance, heading over the bar from close range with the goal at his mercy.
Granit Xhaka also fired a shot over shortly before halftime, while Wolfsburg dominated possession but failed to seriously test Lukas Hradecky.
Leverkusen took more control after the break, prompting Alonso to introduce Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong in search of a breakthrough.
Frimpong, who had scored against Wolfsburg in each of the previous two seasons, couldn’t repeat the feat, and the hosts nearly capitalized instead.
Killian Fischer’s long-range strike rattled the crossbar, coming closest to breaking the deadlock.
Neither side could find a winner in a match lacking cutting-edge quality, leaving Wolfsburg to settle for a draw despite extending their winless run to four Bundesliga matches.
The result lifted them into the top half of the table, but it was a frustrating evening overall.
Leverkusen’s first scoring blank in 21 home league games and just their second clean sheet in 10 away matches will bring little comfort.
Now trailing Bayern Munich by eight points, their upcoming clash with the league leaders next week is shaping up to be crucial.
