Ghent (Belgium), Feb 18 (IANS): VFL Wolfsburg defeated hosts Gent 3-2 in the first leg of a round of 16 Champions League football tie.

Wolfsburg took a 3-0 lead here on Wednesday only to concede two goals in the final 10 minutes to give the Belgian side hope of staging a comeback in the second leg of the clash, reports Xinhua.

The visitors dominated from the start, though the first clear scoring opportunity came only in the 25th minute, when Gent's Stefan Mitrovic almost knocked the ball into his own net while trying to make a clearance.

In the final minute before the break, Julian Draxler took a pass in midfield, spun away and steamed toward the Gent goal, shuttling the ball to Vierinha before entering the area and hammering home the return pass to give the German club a 1-0 lead.

Draxler got his second of the night just nine minutes into the second half, lifting the ball over keeper Matz Sels to boost Wolfsburg's advantage to 2-0.

Max Kruse made it 3-0 at the hour-mark with an assist from Christian Trasch.

Instead of collapsing, Gent responded with an offensive surge.

The hosts finally broke the ice in the 81st minute on an outstanding individual effort by Sven Kums, a goal that invigorated his team-mates and the crowd.

From then on, it was all Gent, who cut the margin to 3-2 with Kalifa Coulibaly's header in the 89th minute.

The second leg is set for March 8 in Wolfsburg, Germany.