There was plenty of intensity on display in the early stages, with Die Schwaben putting in uncompromising challenges before opening the scoring thanks to some ingenuity in the 14th minute.
Deniz Undav slid the ball through for Bilal El Khannouss, and while Mark Flekken rushed out to stop his flick, the goalkeeper was left completely helpless when the ball fell to Emerdin Demirovic for the striker to finish.
Flekken was left picking the ball out of the net again midway through the half, as Jeff Chabot headed down a corner for Grischa Promel to hit a shot that the Dutchman initially saved before Jamie Leweling scored the rebound.
Patrik Schick sent an effort off target, but did eventually provide his side’s response just before the half-hour mark, meeting Aleix Garcia’s corner with a header that snuck between Dennis Seimen’s legs.
Afonso Moreira then sent two attempts over, while Ibrahim Maza’s venomous effort crashed against the crossbar between those.
The temperature rose in an already heated game with Facundo Medina, Garcia, Luca Jaquez and Chabot all being booked after a coming together between the two teams. That ferocity was also reflected in the action, as Garcia fired over and Moreira was denied by Seimen, before Leweling hit the crossbar at the other end.
The high pace continued into the second period, with Maza’s fizzed shot being tipped over, before El Khannouss doubled the visitors’ lead with a low drive from the edge of the box just six minutes after the restart.
Seimen then made a superb save to deny Moreira’s powerful strike and Schick headed off target from the ensuing corner.
Stuttgart proved that they were willing to do whatever it took to stop Maza and maintain their buffer, as Atakan Karazor and Demirovic were both booked for a sliding tackle on the Algeria international.
Maximilian Mittelstadt then legitimately dispossessed him, starting a move that culminated in Demirovic turning home Undav’s perfectly weighted pass to put Sebastian Hoeness’ men in complete control.
Maza headed Miguel Gutierrez’s pinpoint cross home in the 79th minute to restore some hope for the hosts, but Stuttgart saw out the game to follow up their DFB-Pokal victory over Paderborn with a first win in three Bundesliga matches that sees them jump up to 10th for now.
In doing so, they condemn Leverkusen to back-to-back league defeats, which leaves them fifth.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ermedin Demirovic (VfB Stuttgart)