First Team

Amoura brace not enough

The Wolves went down 3-2 in Munich.

VfL Wolfsburg began the second half of the season with a 3-2 defeat at FC Bayern Munich. The German record champions asserted their dominance early in the game and took the lead through a long-range shot from Leon Goretzka after 20 minutes. The Wolves soon equalised with one of their rare attacks, finished off by Mohamed Amoura (24’), before Michael Olise restored the home side’s advantage (39’). 
In the second half, Goretzka made it 3-1 with his second goal of the day (62’). Bayern took their foot off the gas after that but the Green-and-Whites continued to struggle to penetrate the hosts’ backline. The impressive Amoura did reduce the deficit late on (88’), but the Wolves remained winless in Munich in their 28th attempt.

Goals

1-0 Goretzka (20’): A pass from Joshua Kimmich allows Goretzka to run through on goal unopposed and the midfielder rifles the ball into the left corner from 17 metres.

1-1 Amoura (24’): A perfect response! Patrick Wimmer finds Yannick Gerhardt, Goretzka’s attempted clearance goes to Amoura and the VfL forward sweeps it into the right corner.

2-1 Olise (39’): A mistake by the Wolves in build-up play is immediately punished as Olise takes a shot from 18 metres which slips through the hands of Kamil Grabara.

3-1 Goretzka (62’): Goretzka is left unmarked from a free-kick and leaves Grabara with no chance with a header into the right corner.

3-2 Amoura (88’): Tiago Tomas initiates the goal by winning possession in midfield before setting off towards the penalty box. He chooses the right moment to tee up Amoura, who confidently buries it into the bottom right corner. 

Reaction

Ralph Hasenhüttl: “The win for Bayern is absolutely deserved, they had far more chances. Obviously you could never write us off completely, but that door was only slightly ajar. We believed and gave it one last go, so I have to give my team credit for that. They kept trying to create pressure and clear their lines. At the end of the day, we lost because of two long-range shots and a free-kick from wide.”

Vincent Kompany: “Wolfsburg have improved since our last meeting and we knew it would be a difficult match. We played very well for large spells, so I’m pleased with the result. It’s a very positive start to 2025 for us.”

Line-ups and stats

FC Bayern München: Neuer – Laimer, Upamecano, M.-J. Kim, Davies – Kimmich, Goretzka, L. Sane (67‘ Gnabry), Olise, Coman (75‘ Musiala) – Kane

Subs: Ulreich (GK), Dier, Guerreiro, Stanisic, T. Müller, Pavlovic, Tel

VfL Wolfsburg: Grabara – Fischer, Vavro, Koulierakis, Maehle – Arnold, B. Dardai (71‘ Svanberg), Gerhardt (63‘ Vranckx), Wimmer (71‘ Wind), Amoura – L. Nmecha (63‘ Tomas)

Subs: Müller (GK), Bornauw, Özcan, K. Behrens, Skov Olsen

Goals: 1-0 Goretzka (20’), 1-1 Amoura (24’), 2-1 Olise (39’), 3-1 Goretzka (62’), 3-2 Amoura (88’)

Yellow cards: Kimmich, Laimer / Maehle, Fischer

Referee: Tobias Reichel (Sindelfingen)

Attendance: 75,024 (sold out) at Allianz Arena (Munich)