On the penultimate day of the group stage of the Champions League, VfL Wolfsburg suffered their first loss under recently-appointed head coach Florian Kohfeldt. The Green-and-Whites came off second-best in the Group G encounter away to Sevilla, going down 2-0.
In front of an Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan crowd at fever pitch, Joan Jordan gave the 2019/20 Europa League winners the lead in the 12th minute, and although Lukas Nmecha was unlucky to see his strike later in the first half hit the bar (23’), the hosts dictated play up until the break.
In the second half, the Green-and-Whites found it almost impossible to create any chances for an equaliser against the aggressive home team, and in time added on, Sevilla broke clear with Rafa Mir securing the three points (90’+7).
After their second defeat in this competition, the Wolves now find themselves bottom of the table on five points. In the evening’s other match, Lille defeated Salzburg at home to go first in the group, with the French club heading to the Volkswagen Arena on 8 December on the final matchday.
Goals
1-0 Jordan (12th minute): An early setback for the Wolves. A cross from former Bundesliga player Ivan Rakitic catches the VfL defence unawares with Spanish midfielder Jordan stealing in ahead of Ridle Baku and heading home from the middle of the penalty area.
2-0 Rafa Mir (90th minute +7): The match is finally put to bed deep into stoppage time. VfL struggle to get possession back as the clock ticks down and instead it is Lucas Ocampos who takes the ball all the way to the byline before sliding a perfect ball across to Rafa Mir, who merely has to make contact to prod the ball home from the edge of the six-yard box.
What the coach said
Florian Kohfeldt: “We got what we deserved out of the match, and that can be put down to two things. First, Sevilla played well. Going behind early was the worst-case scenario for us, because after that Sevilla were able to play the ball around and we struggled to get to grips with the game. That we ended up conceding a second is one of those things that can happen.
“The second point though, is that we didn’t play to our abilities today. We need to be more solid, and that needs to happen sooner rather than later. Lukas having that one chance just isn’t enough. We need to learn how to focus on what we can create and not lose our cool”.
Line-up and stats
FC Sevilla: Bono – Montiel, Kounde, Diego Carlos (90‘+3 Rekik), Acuna – Fernando, Jordan (82’ Delaney), Rakitic (90’+4 Augustinsson) – Ocampos, Munir (80’ Rafa Mir), Gomez (80’ Torres)
Subs: Dmitrovic (GK), Gonzalez (GK), Augustinsson, Juanlu, Oscar, Luismi, Romero
VfL Wolfsburg: Pervan – Lacroix, Guilavogui, Brooks (88’ Ginczek) – Baku (75’ Mbabu), Vranckx (75’ Lukebakio), Arnold, Roussillon (75’ Otavio), L. Nmecha, Gerhardt (66’ Philipp) – Weghorst
Subs: Klinger (GK), Schulze (GK), Bornauw, van de Ven, F. Nmecha, Waldschmidt
Goals: 1-0 Jordan (12‘), 2-0 Rafa Mir (90‘+7)
Yellow cards: Fernando / Guilavogui, Arnold, Nmecha
Referee: Cüneyt Cakir (TUR)
Attendance: 30,000 at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan
