Leverkusen stay top of Bundesliga after thrashing Cologne

Wendell (L) of Leverkusen vies with Marius Wolf of Cologne during a German Bundesliga football match between FC Cologne and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Cologne, Germany, Dec. 16, 2020. (Xinhua)

BERLIN, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Bayer Leverkusen cruised past Cologne 4-0 to remain top of the Bundesliga standings on Wednesday.

The Werkself started with all guns blazing as Mitchell Weiser volleyed home a flicked-on free-kick into the top right corner with just eight minutes played.

Just two minutes later, Leverkusen doubled its advantage through Moussa Diaby, who had enough time and space to drill the ball from 18 meters into the top-left corner.

Peter Bosz's men controlled possession and remained dangerous as Aleksandar Dragovic tested Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn following a set piece at the half-hour mark.

After the break, Leverkusen started similarly to how they had in the first half, as Patrik Schick made it three after slotting home at the near post in the 54th minute.

To make things worse for the hosts, youngster and former Cologne player Florian Wirtz put the result beyond doubt at the hour mark after tapping home Leon Bailey's pass from the edge of the box.

With a 4-0 lead, Leverkusen let the ball do the work to wind down the clock with Cologne unable to pose any danger.

"I am very happy with our performance. It was overall a great game with great goals," Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz said.

Said Cologne coach Markus Gisdol, "Leverkusen gave us no chance to gain a foothold into the game. They play on a different level at the moment."

With its eighth win of the season, Leverkusen defend its one-point advantage at the top of the table, while Cologne remain 15th position in the Bundesliga standings.

Elsewhere, defending champions and second-placed Bayern Munich came from behind to edge Wolfsburg 2-1 thanks to a brace from Robert Lewandowski.

Third-placed Leipzig kept the pace with the top two as Yussuf Poulsen's goal was enough for all three points at Hoffenheim.

Roland Sallai's second-half double strike helped Freiburg extend Schalke's winless run to 28 games, while Augsburg beat newcomers Arminia Bielefeld 1-0.