Bayer Leverkusen Stages Dramatic Comeback to Overcome Stuttgart in Thrilling Seven-Goal Match

Bayer Leverkusen showcased remarkable resilience by coming back from two goals down on two occasions to clinch a thrilling 4-3 victory over VfB Stuttgart at the MHPArena. This impressive win brought them to within six points of the Bundesliga leaders and maintained their exceptional unbeaten run in away league matches, now standing at 30 games.

Despite having not secured a victory against Leverkusen at this venue for 15 years, Stuttgart’s opponents were in a three-match losing slump, making this encounter seem like an ideal opportunity.

Stuttgart seized the moment just 15 minutes in, with Jamie Leweling’s angled shot saved by Lukas Hradecky, allowing Ermedin Demirovic to capitalise on the rebound and open the scoring.

Demirovic’s tenth goal of the season, celebrating his 150th appearance in the Bundesliga, spurred Stuttgart onto further opportunities, including a vital intervention from Exequiel Palacios to deny Enzo Millot a clear shot from close range.

Leverkusen gradually found their rhythm but struggled to mount a serious offensive response, while Stuttgart almost doubled their lead, forcing Hradecky into another save from Millot’s strike.

After the break, Leverkusen’s decision to push forward quickly backfired, as Millot danced through their defence to set up an unmarked Nick Woltemade, who slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner.

The reigning champions are often capable of bouncing back, and Jeremie Frimpong reduced the deficit shortly after, converting into the far corner following a blocked effort from Robert Andrich.

However, Leverkusen faced another setback when a save from Hradecky on Demirovic’s initial shot rebounded off Granit Xhaka and into the net, extending Stuttgart’s lead. Yet, Piero Hincapie responded just minutes later, levelling the score again by powering in a header from a corner.

Chances continued to fall for Xabi Alonso’s side, and with just three minutes remaining, they finally found the equaliser as Victor Boniface’s cross was inadvertently nudged past Nubel by Angelo Stiller.

As they often did last season, they found a second stoppage-time winner, with Patrik Schick heading home from Frimpong’s cross at the near post.

Thanks to this remarkable victory, Leverkusen maintains their extraordinary away streak dating back to the 2022/23 season and capitalises on Bayern Munich’s slip. The gap to the top three is reduced to just six points, while Stuttgart now faces an uphill battle with an eight-point deficit to overcome if they wish to replicate last season’s success and qualify for the UEFA Champions League.