First Team

Baku on target in home win

VfL battled to a 1-0 victory over Union Berlin on Bundesliga Matchday 11.

VfL Wolfsburg earned their first home win of the current Bundesliga season on Matchday 11 as they edged Union Berlin 1-0. The first half was a highly tactical affair with little by way of goalmouth action, and although the Green-and-Whites had more possession they struggled to create any chances. Union only threatened sporadically with long balls and flashes of individual skill.

The Wolves remained on top in the second half and were the more proactive side, with Union content to sit back and soak up the pressure. The hosts were rewarded for their commitment in the 71st minute when Ridle Baku scored what proved to be the winner. VfL defended passionately as the final whistle approached and held on to the result until full time. 

The team's next game is away to RB Leipzig on Saturday 30 November (kick-off 15:30 CET).

Goal

  • 1-0 Ridle Baku (71'): Union's defence is finally breached as Bence Dardai tees up Baku to fire in the only goal of the game from 12 metres out.

Reactions

Ralph Hasenhüttl: “We’re happy with the win against a tough, compact opponent. It was exactly the kind of game we expected it to be. We needed a lot of patience because there weren’t many scoring chances. Having said that, we did have moments where we got into the box and put them under pressure. We stuck to our task and the fans gave us a lot of support, which is important in a game like that. The substitutions brought fresh momentum and changed the dynamic of the game. It’s not an undeserved win and for us it was important to pick up all three points.”

Bo Svensson: “We didn’t really get into the game in the first half. The only positive thing was that it was still goalless at the break. We just didn’t do enough. We got into the game a lot better in the second half after the substitutions and we looked more dangerous. There weren’t many chances but Wolfsburg took the lead from one of them. We put them under pressure after that and had a couple of opportunities of our own but unfortunately we didn’t manage to put them away.”

Line-ups and stats

VfL Wolfsburg: Grabara – Fischer, Vavro, Koulierakis, Maehle – B. Dardai (79‘ Gerhardt), Arnold, Baku (90‘+3 Zesiger), Wimmer (63‘ Wind), Tomas (63‘ L. Nmecha) – Amoura (79‘ Özcan)

Subs: Müller (GK), Bornauw, Svanberg, K. Behrens

Union Berlin: Rönnow – Doekhi, Vogt, Leite (9‘ Querfeld) – Trimmel, R. Khedira (82‘ Benes), Skov (46‘ Rothe), Kemlein, Haberer (70‘ Jeong) – Jordan, Vertessen (46‘ Hollerbach)

Subs: Schwolow (GK), Juranovic, Schäfer, Skarke

Goal: 1-0 Baku (71‘)

Yellow cards: Wimmer / Voigt, Benes

Referee: Tobias Stieler (Obertshausen)

Attendance: 23,861 at Volkswagen Arena (Wolfsburg)