No sooner had VfL Wolfsburg’s training camp in Schladming finished than they flew to London for an acid test of a friendly on Friday evening. Head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl’s charges drew 4-4 in an eye-catching encounter at Brentford FC in what was the team’s sixth pre-season friendly of the summer.
The Wolves were forced to come from behind three times in a highly entertaining spectacle in the English capital, with Patrick Wimmer (34’, 85’), Maxence Lacroix (41’) and Maximilian Arnold (78’) all on target.
Before heading back to Germany, VfL will play against the Premier League club again on Saturday morning in a behind-closed-doors encounter. Things will get lively back in Wolfsburg on Sunday at the VfL Family Festival, including the VfL Kids Day, which will be held on the grounds of the Volkswagen Arena from 11:00 CEST.
Personnel
Hasenhüttl had been deprived of more than a dozen players in the friendly against Como, but he had several more available to him here. Kevin Paredes was back from Olympic duty with the USA, while Mattias Svanberg and Tiago Tomas were among the substitutes. The coach made two changes from the side that started against Como, with Paredes and Yannick Gerhardt coming in for Bence Dardai and Ridle Baku, who was absent due to a muscular complaint.
Reaction
Ralph Hasenhüttl: “It was a really, really energetic game, and both teams went out there with an attacking mind-set. We were up against a lot of quality players, but our team got back into the match three times and showed that they’ve got what it takes, mentally as well as physically. It was tough to defend against opponents who run as quickly as they do, and we came off second-best during certain phases. Overall we looked decent with the ball tonight and always managed to carve out some good chances. Without the ball, we also look good for periods, but not as good as we’ll have to be against the top teams. It was an excellent measuring stick for us, and exactly what we needed.”
Line-ups and stats
FC Brentford: Flekken – Rasmussen (78‘ Trevitt), Pinnock (78’ Kim), Collins, Ajer – Janelt (78’ Damsgaard), Nörgaard (78‘ Onyeka), Jensen (78‘ Yarmoliuk) – Schade (83‘ Peart-Harris), Mbeumo, Wissa (46‘ Toney)
Subs: Cox (GK), Eyestone, McManus, Konak
VfL Wolfsburg: Grabara – Lacroix, Bornauw, Zesiger – Paredes, Arnold, Gerhardt, Kaminski – Majer (85‘ Fischer), Behrens (85‘ Wind), Wimmer
Subs: Pervan (GK), Cozza, Tomas, Jenz, Svanberg, Bröger, Amoako, Braun, Benedict
Goals: 1-0 Mbeumo (17‘), 2-0 Wissa (21‘), 2-1 Wimmer (34‘), 2-2 Lacroix (42‘), 3-2 Jensen (65‘), 3-3 Arnold (78‘), 4-3 Schade (81‘), 4-4 Wimmer (85‘)
Referee: Simon Hooper
Attendance: 10,633 at Gtech Community Stadium (London)