Max Kruse hit a hat-trick as Wolfsburg fired five first-half goals en route to thrashing 10-man Mainz 5-0 in the Bundesliga.
Jonas Wind also scored twice to help Florian Kohfeldt’s side emphatically bounce back from last weekend’s 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Borussia Dortmund.
Denmark international Wind gave the hosts an eighth-minute lead and Mainz were left facing an uphill task just 23 minutes in after Niklas Tauer was dismissed for fouling Lukas Nmecha in the penalty box.
Veteran forward Kruse converted from the spot and then stylishly capped a flowing team move to double his tally.
Wind claimed his second shortly afterwards before the 34-year-old Kruse completed his treble in added time at the end of a one-sided opening period.
Victory for Die Wolfe was only a second in six outings and moved them to 11th in the table, two points and as many places behind their opponents.
In the Eredivisie, Twente moved level on points with third-placed Feyenoord courtesy of a 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Sparta Rotterdam.
Goals in either half from former Norwich striker Ricky Van Wolfswinkel and former Holland Under-21 midfielder Michel Vlap did the damage against the division’s third-bottom side.
Van Wolfswinkel’s strike was his 15th league goal of the campaign, leaving him second only to Ajax’s former West Ham marksman Sebastien Haller (20) in the league’s scoring charts.
