Stuttgart end Leverkusen rot with big 4-1 win; Heidenheim, Mainz draw

Jamie Leweling scored a brace as VfB Stuttgart stormed out of the Bundesliga winter break with a 4-1 statement win at top-four rivals Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

Maximilian Mittelstädt and Deniz Undav were also on target for a 4-0 half-time lead as Stuttgart emphatically ended a run of 15 games without victory since April 2018 against Leverkusen and give their coach Sebastian Hoeness a first win against them in a 12th attempt.

Stuttgart rose to fifth, level with Leverkusen and RB Leipzig on points but trailing on goal difference.

"We lost a few times against them without really deserving it. Today we deserved the victory," Stuttgart board member for sport Fabian Wohlgemuth told Sky TV.

Leweling said: "The whole team was top. We were in the match from the kick-off. But being up 4-0 at the half did surprise me."

Leverkusen captain Robert Andrich said: "We were never in the game. You must go into the duels in a very different way against such an aggressive opponent."

Other games

Elsewhere, bottom club Mainz blew a two-goal advantage in a 2-2 draw at Union Berlin and second-last Heidenheim failed to hold on a lead twice in a draw with the same scoreline against Cologne.

Freiburg beat 10-man SV Hamburg 2-1 while St Pauli v RB Leipzig and Werder Bremen v Hoffenheim were cancelled owing to winter weather.

The Sunday games are Borussia Mönchengladbach v Augsburg and runaway leaders Bayern Munich v Wolfsburg. Eintracht Frankfurt drew 3-3 with second placed Borussia Dortmund on Friday.

Leverkusen caught out cold by Stuttgart

Stuttgart started livelier and were 1-0 up on their third chance in the seventh minute from Leweling who had a second chalked off for offside a few minutes later.

But it was 2-0 in the 28th when Mittelstädt sent goalkeeper Mark Flekken the wrong way from the penalty spot after Jeanu Belocian had brought down Josha Vagnoman.

Stuttgart keeper Alexander Nübel preserved the two-goal lead with a big save against Malik Tillman before Leweling found the bottom corner and fellow Germany player Undav made it 4-0 against three defenders with two quickfire goals just before half-time.

Alejandro Grimaldo put the hosts on the scoreboard with a 66th minute penalty after Jeff Chabot had fouled Tillman but there was no way back like in their last meeting where Leverkusen had won 4-3 from 3-1 down.

"A victory at last against Leverkusen. The luck was on our side today and we were ruthless up front," Undav said.

Mainz not awarded

Mainz seemed on course from Nadiem Amiri in the first half and former Union player Benedict Hollerbach in the 69th but headers from Jeong Woo-Yeong in the 77th and Marin Ljubicic in the 86th extended their winless run to 12 matches.

Hollerbach did not celebrate his goal out of respect for his former club, and the game also saw new Mainz coach Urs Fischer return to Union which he had led into the Bundesliga in 2019 and into the Champions League in 2023.

Heidenheim also held

In Heidenheim, Marvin Pieringer gave the hosts a 15th-minute lead with an artistic volley and Julian Niehues made it 2-1 in the 36th in a scramble.

But Cologne hit back from Eric Martel's header in the 18th and a deflected shot from young star Said El Mala which looped over goalkeeper Diant Ramaj in the 48th. The visitors then missed several chances as their winless run now stands at seven matches.

Hamburg misery on the road

Hamburg led in Freiburg from Luka Vuskovic's header three minutes after the restart but it all unravelled for the visitors when Daniel Elfadli was dismissed for a second bookable offence when he clipped Lucas Höler in the area.

Vincenzo Grifo converted the ensuing penalty in the 63rd, and Igor Matanovic got an 83rd-minute winner from short range in the 83rd as Hamburg continue to wait for a first season win away from home.