Bayer Leverkusen kept their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League on track as they came out on top in a nine-goal epic with Wolfsburg to win 6-3 on Saturday. 

Kasper Hjulmand's side found themselves two goals down in the first half, but they turned on the style after the interval to stay two points behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig. 

Jonas Wind gave Wolfsburg a 16th-minute lead, latching on to Konstantinos Koulierakis' defensive header before finishing past Mark Flekken, but Leverkusen drew level on the half-hour mark through Alejandro Grimaldo, who dispatched a penalty after Joakim Maehle needlessly bundled over Ibrahim Maza inside the area.

However, Maehle immediately atoned for his error 61 seconds later, with his stunning first-time finish straight from kick-off whistling past Flekken to restore Wolfsburg's advantage.

Wolfsburg then pulled further clear with a spot-kick of their own seven minutes later after Edmond Tapsoba kicked through the back of Mohammed Amoura, allowing Christian Eriksen to step up and score from 12 yards out. 

The goals kept on coming in a pulsating opening 45 minutes as Leverkusen reduced the deficit through Grimaldo, who notched his second with a low shot past Kamil Grabara. 

Referee Martin Petersen then pointed to the spot for a third time eight minutes into the second half. Sael Kumbedi brought down Nathan Tella, with half-time substitute Patrik Schick scoring the resulting penalty. 

Leverkusen took the lead for the first time in the 68th minute when Tapsoba picked out the bottom-right corner after Wolfsburg failed to deal with the loose ball in their own box. 

Ibrahim Maza squeezed his effort under Grabara after being found by Exequiel Palacios, with Malik Tillman sealing the win in the 96th minute from close range after he was teed up sensationally following Ernest Poku's mazy run. 

Data Debrief: Grimaldo stars yet again for Leverkusen

In a game filled with chaos, Grimaldo was a presence of calm for Leverkusen, and his contributions here helped his team to what could prove to be a huge three points in the race for Champions League football this season. 

The Spaniard registered team-high totals for chances created (four), crosses (12), while only Exequiel Palacios played more passes in the final third (58 to 35) and had more touches (136 to 116) than Grimaldo. 

Leverkusen also won after trailing at half-time at home in the Bundesliga for the first time since September 2024, which also came against Wolfsburg, ending a run of four such games in the top flight.

But Hjulmand's side were worthy of their win, given they registered an expected goals (xG) total of 4.25 from their 25 shots, 11 of which were on target, compared to Wolfsburg's 2.02 from their 11 attempts.