VfL Wolfsburg's Luiz Gustavo scored on the hour to rescue a 1-1 draw at improving Mainz 05 on Sunday but the Wolves lost possible further ground in their chase of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
The Brazil midfielder first hit the post and then grabbed a 61st minute equaliser for lacklustre Wolfsburg after Niko Bungert headed the hosts into the lead in the seventh minute.
The result lifts second-placed Wolfsburg to 54 points, 10 behind Bayern, who can pull further away when they welcome Borussia Moenchengladbach later on Sunday.
Mainz, who also hit the woodwork, have now lost just once in five games under coach Martin Schmidt to move onto 30 points in 11th place.
Wolfsburg looked tired from their midweek Europa League win over Inter Milan and had to wait an hour for their best chance when Luiz Gustavo rattled the post with a powerful 20-metre shot.
He did it better a minute later, tapping in off the post from a Kevin De Bruyne corner.
But it was dominant Mainz who came the closest to snatching a late win when Shinji Okazaki outsprinted his markers, charged into the box but narrowly missed a cross in front of goal.
Image: VfL Wolfsburg's Nicklas Bendtner (left) and team-mate Luiz Gustavo celebrate a goal
Photograph: Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
