Late Gruda strike rescues a point for Leipzig against Wolfsburg | OneFootball

Goals from Mohamed Amoura and Mattias Svanberg saw Wolfsburg twice take the lead and dream of a huge away victory, only for Gruda to snatch a share of the spoils late on despite what had been a frustrating evening in front of goal for the hosts.

The opening exchanges were frantic and breathless, with both sides threatening early. Wolfsburg came close through Christian Eriksen, whose strike whistled just over Peter Gulácsi’s crossbar, while Leipzig responded via Conrad Harder’s magnificent overhead kick that forced Kamil Grabara into a fine reflex save from point-blank range.

Leipzig were dealt an early injury concern when Gulácsi was forced off after appearing to tweak something, with Maarten Vandevoordt replacing him. The setback did little to halt the hosts’ momentum, however, as Gruda began to take centre stage and was involved in everything positive Leipzig produced.

The Brighton loanee’s best opportunity of the first half arrived four minutes before the interval when Antonio Nusa slipped him through inside the box, but Grabara was equal to it once more, tipping his effort over the bar to cap an excellent first-half display and ensure the sides went in level at the break.

Leipzig continued to press after the restart, with Yan Diomande the next to be denied by the impressive Grabara as frustration mounted. And as is so often the case when chances are missed, Wolfsburg struck against the run of play on 52 minutes.

Mohamed Amoura combined with Adam Daghim on the right, the Dane beating two defenders with clever footwork before returning the ball to Amoura, who curled a superb effort beyond Vandevoordt to hand the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Grabara’s near-flawless performance unravelled with 20 minutes remaining. His misplaced clearance fell straight to Gruda, who surged forward and squared unselfishly for Diomande to slot home from the right side of the area and restore parity.

Leipzig continued to search for a winner, but the pendulum swung once more in Wolfsburg’s favour, again against the run of play. Winning possession high up the pitch, Jeanuël Belocian slipped substitute Mattias Svanberg through, and the midfielder composed himself before finishing coolly past the advancing Vandevoordt to make it 2-1.

The hosts refused to accept defeat and were rewarded a minute from time. Johan Bakayoko’s cross was only partially cleared into Gruda’s path, and the winger produced a stunning curling finish beyond the helpless Grabara to level the contest at 2-2 and set up a tense finale with seven minutes of added time.

Leipzig’s frustrating evening was summed up deep into stoppage time when substitute Rômulo squandered a gilt-edged opportunity at the back post, blazing over from close range to ensure the points were shared in a thrilling end-to-end encounter.

It ultimately felt like two points dropped for Leipzig, who miss the chance to leapfrog Stuttgart into fourth and instead finish the weekend in fifth. For Wolfsburg, the draw does little to ease their relegation concerns but does at least halt a run of three consecutive defeats as they remain 15th.