Neither of these familiar DFB-Pokal foes, who have now faced each other six times in the last 11 seasons, were happy to sit back in the early stages, leading to a raft of chances at either end.
Lois Openda ended a lengthy goal drought at the weekend, but couldn’t add to that as he poked wide of the near post with only four minutes played before Wolfsburg’s Tiago Tomás thundered into the side netting having been sent through by Patrick Wimmer.
A few wild long-range efforts from Leipzig then broke up the tempo, but the visitors were back at it by the half-hour mark to call Maarten Vandervoordt into a pair of simple saves.
That looked to be it for the first-half action, but there was a flurry of chances in stoppage time, including Wimmer’s near-post effort which was saved well by Vandervoordt.
The opening stages of the second half unfolded similarly to the first, with a high volume of chances but still no goals. Mohamed Amoura – scorer of a brace in Wolfsburg’s comprehensive 5-1 win here in November – came the closest of anyone yet, looping his header against the bar at the back post.
Vandervoordt was soon busy again to tip over Andreas Skov Olsen’s thunderous effort, but the ensuing Leipzig pressure resulted in the opener for the Red Bulls.
It came from the spot after Sesko’s cross bounced up onto the arm of Kilian Fischer, and the Slovenian stepped up himself to bury it into the bottom left from 12 yards.
That was the first goal Wolfsburg had conceded in the Pokal this term, but a second nearly came soon after through chances for Openda and Amadou Haidara.
Leipzig’s apparent refusal to defend their lead resulted in an abundance of chances late on, but Kevin Behrens was unable to convert from the Wolves’ clearest opening as they were eliminated.
Although they have shown their mettle in defeating Bundesliga opposition in each of the last three rounds, Leipzig will still hope to draw third-tier Arminia Bielefeld, who are already in the semi-finals thanks to a remarkable run including victories over Union Berlin, Freiburg and Werder Bremen.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Willi Orban (RB Leipzig)