VfL Wolfsburg gave their European hopes a boost with a 5-1 win away to Bochum on Matchday 29. Mattias Svanberg (10’, 56’) hit a brace, while Jakub Kaminski (21’), Patrick Wimmer (34’) and Luca Waldschmidt (77’) were also on the scoresheet for Niko Kovac’s side in front of a crowd of 24,834 at the Vonovia-Ruhrstadion. The victory has moved the Wolves up to eighth in the table.
Goals
- 0-1 Svanberg (10’): Perfect start for the Green-and-Whites: Koen Casteels' goal kick reaches Wimmer via Jonas Wind on the wing. He sends a well-timed cross into the middle, where Svanberg is waiting to finish off a perfect counter from close range.
- 0-2 Kaminski (21’): Wimmer is instrumental again as the Austrian takes on two opponents before Felix Nmecha takes over possession and sends Kaminski through. The Pole keeps his composure one-on-one and nets confidently.
- 0-3 Wimmer (33’): Wimmer has a go and a deflection from Patrick Osterhage leaves goalkeeper Manuel Riemann with no chance.
- 0-4 Svanberg (56’): Another attack gets Svanberg into position. He beats one defender and his shot is actually poorly placed, but Riemann lets it slip over the line.
- 1-4 Broschinski (68’): Casteels initially beats Ivan Ordets to a corner, but the clearance lands right at the feet of Moritz Broschinski, who only has to stick it in.
- 1-5 Waldschmidt (77’): Wind chips a penalty onto the crossbar but Waldschmidt heads in the rebound.
Coaches reaction
Nico Kovac: “We’re happy, the result is a statement for us. We showed real class in the first half. We capitalised very well on what Bochum always do, which is man-to-man marking across the pitch. We found the free players and were also very assertive in our defending and pressed the opponents high, so that we weren’t sitting too deep in our own penalty area. Of course, we did have the necessary luck in a few situations. We knew Bochum would give it a go in the second half with their fans behind them. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the defensive performance there, but on the whole the win is fair.”
Thomas Letsch: “For me it’s quite difficult to analyse this match. It sounds strange after a 5-1 defeat but in my opinion we did a lot of things well. What made the difference in the end is that we weren’t good enough in the key moments in the first half. With all the goals we made it too easy for the opponents. For that reason, it’s a fully deserved win for VfL Wolfsburg. However, when I see the atmosphere here and the way the team fought, that makes me optimistic.”
Line-ups and stats
VfL Bochum: Riemann – Osei-Tutu (24‘ Gamboa), Ordets, Masovic, Soares – Losilla, Osterhage (46‘ Asano) – Zoller (64‘ Holtmann), Stöger, Antwi-Adjei (64‘ Kunde) – Hofmann (46‘ Broschinski)
Subs: Esser (GK), Stafylidis, Lampropoulos, Heintz
VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Baku, Bornauw (46’ Guilavogui), Lacroix, van de Ven – Arnold – Wimmer (46’ Marmoush/64‘ Waldschmidt), F. Nmecha, Svanberg (67‘ Gerhardt), Kaminski (79‘ Cozza) – Wind
Subs: Pervan (GK), Schulze (GK), Pejcinovic, Ambros
Goals: 0-1 Svanberg (10‘), 0-2 Kaminski (21‘), 0-3 Wimmer (33‘), 0-4 Svanberg (56‘), 1-4 Broschinski (68‘), 1-5 Waldschmidt (77‘)
Yellow cards: Stöger, Masovic, Antwi-Adjei / Wimmer, Guilavogui, van de Ven
Schiedsrichter: Felix Brych (Munich)
Attendance: 24,834 at Vonovia Ruhrstadion
