VfL Wolfsburg’s barren run continued on Bundesliga Matchday 29 as Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig on Friday evening. Trailing 3-0, Kilian Fischer (58’) and Andreas Skov Olsen (75’) both opened their Bundesliga accounts to give the Green-and-Whites hope in front of 23,070 fans at the Volkswagen Arena. However, they were unable to salvage a point in a thrilling finale. The Wolves were unfortunate in the first half that Jonas Wind and Jakub Kaminski both hit the woodwork.
VfL are next in action on Saturday 19 April (kick-off 15:30 CEST) away to 1. FSV Mainz 05.
Goals
0-1 Openda (11’): Patrick Wimmer loses the ball just outside his own penalty area. Loïs Openda receives it around 20 metres from goal and hits an unstoppable low shot into the left corner.
0-2 Xavi (26’): A slip by Maximilian Arnold in midfield allows Leipzig to counter. Kamil Grabara is powerless again as Xavi buries the ball into the left corner.
0-3 Xavi (49’): Xavi has too much space in front of goal but his curling effort only ends up in the net via a deflection on the way.
1-3 Fischer (58’): A sign of life! Fischer receives the ball from Kaminski and has a go from outside the box, finding the corner with a splendid curler.
2-3 Skov Olsen (75’): Joakim Maehle, who’s just come onto the pitch, drives into the penalty area and tees up fellow substitute Skov Olsen. From a tricky position the Dane smashes the ball underneath the crossbar to further reduce the deficit.
Reaction
Ralph Hasenhüttl: “The result isn’t undeserved on the basis of the first half. We lost the ball twice in our own half from Leipzig’s counter-pressing. We can’t allow that to happen. The opponents were actually better in every respect there. Nevertheless, I already had the feeling before the break that we were growing into it as time went on. We had chances, hit the bar and post. Ultimately we needed that push from the goal earlier, because you noticed the impact on the team of not scoring in three matches. They started to believe in themselves again in the second half and we finally played the football that defined us in the first half of the season again. That was good but sadly not enough.”
Zsolt Löw: “It was a really interesting match for the neutral, but very stressful for us as coaches. We started well, led 2-0 and played very well in the first half – with a few minor problems, admittedly, but we had the control. After the third goal, we should’ve been out of sight. But as we know from Ralph and his teams, they never give up. Wolfsburg threw everything and built up pressure which was hard to withstand. We made mistakes in that period. All in all, though, I’m very proud that the boys brought the win home.”
Line-ups and stats
VfL Wolfsburg: Grabara – Fischer, Odogu, Vavro (71‘ Maehle) – Kaminski (71‘ Skov Olsen), Dardai (86‘ Tomas), Arnold, Gerhardt, Amoura, Wimmer (86‘ Nmecha) – Wind
Subs: Müller (GK), Roerslev, Vranckx, Paredes, Koulierakis
RB Leipzig: Gulasci – Nedeljkovic (77‘ Geertruida), Klostermann, Bitshiabu, Lukeba – Vermeeren (71‘ Kampl), Seiwald, Baku (71‘ Baumgartner), Xavi (85‘ Haidara) – Sesko, Openda (77‘ Poulsen)
Subs: Vandevoordt (GK), Norbye, Voufack, Gomis
Goals: 0-1 Openda (11‘), 0-2 Xavi (20‘), 0-3 Xavi (49‘), 1-3 Fischer (58‘), 2-3 Skov Olsen (75‘)
Yellow cards: Gerhardt, Fischer / Bitshiabu, Xavi, Openda
Referee: Florian Exner (Münster)
Attendance: 23,070 at Volkswagen Arena (Wolfsburg)
