VfL Wolfsburg clinched their first home win of the season in stoppage time as they beat Stuttgart 3-2 at the Volkswagen Arena. Over 24,000 fans watched a highly entertaining contest, and it was the hosts who were celebrating at the end. Serhou Guirassy gave the visitors the lead somewhat out of the blue in the 21st minute, but the Wolves responded promptly. Omar Marmoush equalised with a long-range strike just two minutes later, before Maximilian Arnold made it 2-1 (38’). However, Stuttgart defender Konstantinos Mavropanos ensured the score was level at the break, netting from a corner on the stroke of half-time.
There was no shortage of chances in the second half but neither side could make the most of them, until Yannick Gerhardt grabbed the winner for the Wolves in the 91st minute. VfL are back in action at the same time next week, when they travel to FC Augsburg on Saturday 8 October.
Team news
Niko Kovac made four changes to his line-up, with Gerhardt, Jakub Kaminski, Patrick Wimmer and Marmoush coming in for Bartol Franjic, Josip Brekalo, Luca Waldschmidt and the injured Lukas Nmecha.
Goals
- 1-0 Guirassy (21’): Ice-cold from Stuttgart, who come forward down the left. Hiroki Ito whips the ball into the danger area and Guirassy nips in to poke the ball into the top left corner from close range.
- 1-1 Marmoush (23’): The perfect answer: the Wolves also move through the gears on the left side, and Kaminski picks out Marmoush, who finds the net with a well-placed shot from around 16 metres. Relief all around.
- 2-1 Arnold (38’): VfL captain Arnold has a go with his left foot from distance and the ball slips through the fingers of VfB goalkeeper Florian Müller and into the net to put Wolfsburg in front.
- 2-2 Mavropanos (45’): With just seconds left of the first half, Stuttgart equalise. The visitors play a short corner and Mavropanos nods home into the right corner.
- 3-2 Gerhardt (90’+1): The Wolves strike late: the ball comes to Gerhardt in front of goal and he finishes it off to give VfL their first home win this season!
Reaction
Niko Kovac: “We were very good today. In the first half in particular, Florian Müller had to intervene three or four times because we got pace into the box and tried to force the opponents into mistakes. We also succeeded in getting further into the final third, which meant we could’ve scored even more goals. The equaliser at 2-2 wasn’t easy for the lads, but they kept going, even if the second half wasn’t as thrilling as the first. Nevertheless, I saw that the players wanted it and believed in it until the end. I’m pleased that Yannick Gerhardt got the goal.”
Pellegrino Matarazzo: “We’re very disappointed about the result, especially about the three goals we conceded. From my point of view, all three were avoidable. I thought our performance was better in the second half. We had a good spell with chances to take the lead ourselves. I’m most annoyed about the goals we conceded – the last one particularly hurt.”
Line-ups and stats
VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Baku, Lacroix (85‘ Bornauw), van de Ven, Otavio – Arnold, Svanberg, Wimmer (85’ F. Nmecha), Gerhardt, Kaminski (76’ Paredes) – Marmoush (90’ Franjic)
Subs: Pervan (GK), Fischer, Guilavogui, Philipp, Waldschmidt
VfB Stuttgart: F. Müller – Mavropanos, Anton, Ito – Stenzel (77‘ Zagadou), Karazor, Führich (77‘ Tiago Tomas), W. Endo (68‘ Millot), Ahamada (87’ Egloff) – Guirassy (77’ L. Pfeiffer), Silas
Subs: Bredlow (GK), Zagadou, Coulibaly, Nartey, Perea
Goals: 1-0 Guirassy (21’), 1-1 Marmoush (23’), 2-1 Arnold (38’), 2-2 Mavropanos (45’), 3-2 Gerhardt (90’+1)
Yellow cards: Guirassy, Anton, Karazor, Millot, Matarazzo / Wimmer, Baku, Arnold
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Berlin)
Attendance: 24,125 at Volkswagen Arena
