The Green-Whites’ have opened the Matchday on two previous occasions this season, going down to frustrating defeats at Werder Bremen (0-2) and Hannover 96 (1-2). The signs were not encouraging in the first half of their third Friday night game of the campaign at 1. FC Nürnberg, but after a poor first 45 minutes, VfL seized their opportunity against a rather toothless home side and claimed a deserved and hard-fought 2-0 victory. The Wolves got a thumbs-up from their head coach after the game, particularly for the manner in which they pulled off their third win in four games.
Bruno Labbadia: "We made a decent start but we then let Nürnberg into the game with some sloppy passing. Our positional play wasn’t good, we didn’t get into deep areas and our body language before the break didn’t impress me either. The second half was a significant improvement. We certainly didn’t sparkle tonight but the team learned their lessons and showed a great reaction. To get three points even after not playing that well is a valuable experience for us, so today’s win is a very significant one in my eyes."
Michael Köllner: "After the opening exchanges we really started to play our game. My team did a lot right tactically and played with a lot of heart. Unfortunately we lacked conviction and decisiveness in the final third, which was our downfall today. We got into the box a lot but didn’t get enough shots away, while Wolfsburg didn’t have any big chances before hitting the post. Games like this hurt."
