A Daniel Schwaab own goal against his old side was enough to give Bayer Leverkusen the three points against Stuttgart.
It was a bright start from Leverkusen, with Stefan Reinartz and Stefan Kiessling both going close inside the opening four minutes.
After that the game slowed down a little, with Vedad Ibisevic having the next chance for Stuttgart. His strike from outside the box went wide after being found by Martin Harnik.
With the half looking like it was going to end goalless, Schwaab put the ball through his own net against the club that sold him over the summer.
Christian Gentner tried to single-handedly pull Stuttgart back into the game, but his shooting from range was wayward on a number of occasions.
Kiessling for Bayer and Vedad Ibisevic for the hosts both came close inside the final 10 minutes but there were no further goals and the visitors took a good three points.
