Wolfsburg's Austrian head coach Oliver Glasner (left) and Wolfsburg's German midfielder Maximilian Arnold hug after the end of the German first division Bundesliga football match Stuttgart vs Wolfsburg, in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on April 21, 2021. (KAI PFAFFENBACH / POOL / AFP)
BERLIN - The Wolves returned to winning ways after first-half goals from Xaver Schlager and Wout Weghorst smoothed the way for a 3-1 away victory over Stuttgart in the closer of the 30th round in Bundesliga on Wednesday.
The Swabians caught a bright start on home soil and should have broken the deadlock with nine minutes gone but Sasa Kalajdzic wasn't able to beat Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels.
Wolfsburg responded immediately and created two chances at the other end of the pitch as Yannick Gerhardt missed the goal from a tight angle before Josip Brekalo tested Stuttgart custodian Gregor Kobel from the edge of the box moments later.
Stuttgart had the golden chance to neutralize Wolfsburg's narrow lead but for all that Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels denied Stuttgart midfielder Philipp Forster a hand-ball penalty in the 25th minute
The visitors eventually marked the opener with 13 minutes played when Schlager drilled the ball from 22 meters into the roof of the net.
Stuttgart had the golden chance to neutralize Wolfsburg's narrow lead but for all that Casteels denied Philipp Forster a hand-ball penalty in the 25th minute.
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Four minutes later, things went from bad to worse as the clinical Wolves made it two after Brekalo's pinpoint cross found Weghorst, who finished the job with a header from close range.
The hosts kept it bowling but squandered another promising chance in the 35th minute when Tanguy Coulibaly failed to halve the deficit with only Casteels to beat.
After the restart, Stuttgart needed some time to gain a foothold into the game whereas Wolfsburg wasted no time and killed the game in the 65th minute after Brekalo set up for Gerhard, whose well-placed shot tripled the lead.
Stuttgart pressed relentlessly for a consolation goal and the host's efforts were rewarded in injury time, as Gonzalo Castro's deflected long-range strike caught Casteels flat-footed.
With the result, Wolfsburg defends its third spot in the standings while Stuttgart remains in 10th place.
Elsewhere, fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund overpowered resilient Union Berlin 2-0 to reduce the arrears to the top four.
READ MORE: Wolfsburg beat Stuttgart 1-0 to move into Bundesliga top four
Borussia Monchengladbach gave away a two-goal lead and lost 3-2 to Hoffenheim while Mainz edged Werder Bremen 1-0.
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