VfL Wolfsburg delivered a statement of intent in the race for Europe on Sunday, earning a comfortable 3-0 win over 1. FSV Mainz 05 to end a run of six home games without victory. After Jonas Wind had given the Wolves a fifth-minute lead, Sebastiaan Bornauw doubled the Green-and-Whites’ advantage with a header (13’) before Wind scored again (28’) to make it 3-0 at the interval.
Multiple stoppages disrupted the flow of the game after the break but despite failing to make the most of their second-half opportunities, the Wolves saw out the closing stages to clinch a dominant victory which lifts them above Mainz into seventh place in the Bundesliga table.
Goals
1-0 Wind (5’): VfL make the perfect start! Ridle Baku wins the ball back on the right-hand side before Bornauw picks out Mattias Svanberg, who lays it off to Wind in the penalty area. The unmarked Dane beats Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner with a dinked finish to give the Wolves the lead.
2-0 Bornauw (13’): Patrick Wimmer regains possession following a Wolves corner before lofting the ball back into the box, where Bornauw directs a free header into the net to double VfL’s advantage.
3-0 Wind (28’): The Wolves are enjoying themselves now! Felix Nmecha feeds Baku, who tries his luck from a good position on the right. Baku’s effort is heading narrowly wide, but Wind is well-positioned at the far post to prod home VfL’s third from close range.
Coaches’ reaction
Niko Kovac: “We did really well in the first half by playing with a lot of pace, making the right decisions and scoring nice goals. The lads did fantastically well and played the way we hoped they would. That isn’t always the case, but it was today. We were playing against a direct rival and won, but nothing is decided yet. That’s why we have to play just as well in our next game.”
Bo Svensson: “We were fast asleep at the beginning and a good side like Wolfsburg obviously takes advantage of that. I wasn’t happy at all with our defensive work. I’m not used to that from my players. We’ve played so well for so long, but we didn’t have a good game today. Our opponents were much better and deserved to win. We need to learn from it, then we’ll have the opportunity to do better again.”
Line-ups and stats
VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Bornauw, Guilavogui, Lacroix (46‘ Cozza) – Baku, Svanberg (83’ Gerhardt), Arnold, Kaminski (90’ Fischer), Wimmer (90’ Marmoush), F. Nmecha – Wind (83’ Waldschmidt)
Subs: Pervan (GK), Odogu, Ambros, Pejcinovic
1. Mainz 05: Zentner – Hanche-Olsen, Bell, Fernandes (46‘ Martin) – Widmer (66’ da Costa), Barreiro (46‘ Stach), Kohr, Caci, Onisiwo, J.-S. Lee (61‘ Barkok) – Ajorque (61’ Ingvartsen)
Subs: Dahmen (GK), Hack, Barkok, Burgzorg, Weiper
Goals: 1-0 Wind (5‘), 2-0 Bornauw (13‘), 3-0 Wind (28‘)
Yellow cards: Bornauw / Bell, Kohr, Martin
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Berlin)
Attendance: 23,817 at Volkswagen Arena
