Wolfsburg cruise against 10-man Bayer Leverkusen

TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images

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Wolfsburg bounced straight back from their 4-1 European humbling at the hands of Everton on Thursday night by beating 10-man Bayer Leverkusen by the same score on Sunday.

Wolfsburg took early control of the match as Leverkusen defender Giulio Donati was sent off after just seven minutes for conceding a penalty, which Ricardo Rodriguez subsequently slotted home.

Despite that setback Leverkusen still managed to equalise through Josip Drmic, but Wolfsburg's numerical advantage eventually told and Vieirinha, Rodriguez again and Aaron Hunt netted to secure the Wolves their first win of the season.

It was an uphill struggle for Leverkusen from the moment Donati clipped the heel of Junior Malanda inside the penalty area and earned his marching orders.

Rodriguez made no mistake from the spot, but the Wolves made the mistake of thinking the win was already theirs.

After Kevin De Bruyne hit the post, Leverkusen broke with a long punt forward from Bernd Leno being knocked down by Karim Bellarabi for Drmic, who showed good strength to hold off his marker before beating Diego Benaglio.

Wolfsburg struggled to make their extra man count until, on the stroke of half-time, Vieirinha found himself unmarked beyond the far post to head Rodriguez's deep cross inside Leno's post.

Rodriguez then added to his earlier penalty with a goal from open play, a fine volley from De Bruyne's corner which flashed past Leno, unsighted by a pack of players in front of him.

The hosts were home and dry, but there was still time for substitute Hunt to open his account for the club.

Luiz Gustavo powered his way in from the left and his cross was turned towards goal by Hunt. His first effort was blocked by Malanda but the rebound fell straight back to Hunt to sweep in with his left foot, sealing Wolfsburg's first win of the season and ending a miserable week for Leverkusen, who were beaten by Monaco in the Champions League.