Soccer-Wolfsburg suffer first league defeat of season at Hoffenheim

VfL Wolfsburg lost 3-1 at Hoffenheim on Saturday after taking the lead, suffering their first defeat of the season to drop three points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich. The Wolves looked to be on track for another win when Ridle Baku's sensational shot from 20 metres put them ahead in the 25th minute.

VfL Wolfsburg lost 3-1 at Hoffenheim on Saturday after taking the lead, suffering their first defeat of the season to drop three points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.

The Wolves looked to be on track for another win when Ridle Baku's sensational shot from 20 metres put them ahead in the 25th minute. Wolfsburg, who host Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday, had enjoyed a strong start but gradually eased off, allowing Hoffenheim to level on the stroke of halftime when Andrej Kramaric was left unmarked at the far post to power in a header.

The hosts were again stronger in the second half and bagged a second goal when Pavel Kaderabek chased down a deep cross, then cut perfectly into the box for Christoph Baumgartner to drill in. Kaderabek made sure of the three points nine minutes from time, scoring on the rebound after a free-kick had bounced off the post.

"It was a shame not to get any points," said Wolfsburg coach Mark van Bommel. "I think it was an unnecessary defeat because we delivered a good game. "We should have gone 2-0 up to kill off the game. Hoffenheim were very efficient. In that respect they were better than us."

Fellow Champions League club RB Leipzig, who face Club Brugge next week, crushed Hertha Berlin 6-0, with two goals from Christopher Nkunku, their first win in four league games. Champions Bayern are on 16 points following their 3-1 win at Greuther Fuerth on Friday, with Wolfsburg dropping to third on 13. Bayer Leverkusen moved into second on goal difference with a 1-0 win over Mainz 05.

Borussia Dortmund dropped to fourth place on 12 after slumping to a 1-0 loss at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)