Bayer Leverkusen 3 - 1 Hamburger: Substitute Joel Pohjanpalo fires hat-trick for Bayer Leverkusen to sink Hamburg

Substitute Joel Pohjanpalo scored his first Bundesliga hat-trick as Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to win 3-1 against Hamburg.

Bobby Wood gave Hamburg the lead just before the hour mark, but the visitors could not hold on, and it was Pohjanpalo who undid their good work.

The Finn, introduced from the bench in the 72nd minute, levelled seven minutes later and then struck twice in stoppage time to earn Leverkusen their first win of the season.

The late revival should have warmed them up nicely for the visit of CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The game was barely 10 seconds old when Leverkusen's Karim Bellarabi dropped to the ground clutching his groin, and his afternoon was already over with Julian Brandt replacing him.

Head coach Roger Schmidt's best-laid plans were therefore hampered, but a slight reorganisation did not seem to alter too much with his side still edging the first half. A Hakan Calhanoglu free-kick effort was the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock.

The opening goal arrived in the 58th minute when Wood, who marked his Bundesliga debut with a goal a fortnight ago, netted again.

Michael Gregoritsch sent a pass through for the American and he took the ball past the onrushing Bernd Leno before tucking it into the unguarded goal.

The goal came slightly against the run of play, but it was not undeserved, with Bruno Labbadia's side at that stage showing good discipline against his former club.

Their game plan changed with a more defensive approach adopted for the final half hour, although it seemed it would be only a matter of time before Leverkusen made the breakthrough.

Pohjanpalo, who like Wood was playing in Germany's second division last season, followed his opponent's example by netting on his second straight Bundesliga appearance, heading in Brandt's cross from close range.

Leverkusen continued to send men forward in search of a winner, but it was not until stoppage time that they found it.

Pohjanpalo hammered in an unstoppable shot in the first minute of stoppage time before adding a third with the final kick of the game.

Javier Hernandez, who had a quiet game up to that point, was the provider this time, but the Finn did all the hard work to make room for a shot and then beat Rene Adler to crown a fine individual performance and earn Leverkusen their first win of the season.