VfL Wolfsburg are still waiting for their first Bundesliga win of the season after Matchday 4. Niko Kovac’s side went down 2-0 at Leipzig, who were also winless going into the game. RB star Christopher Nkunku gave the hosts an early lead in the fourth minute, converting a penalty that had been awarded for handball, before wrapping up the three points in stoppage time. Despite a significantly improved performance in the second half, VfL couldn’t find a way past the impressive Janis Blaswich in the Leipzig net.
The Wolves host 1. FC Köln on Matchday 5 on Saturday 3 September (kick-off 15:30 CET).
Team news
Kovac made three changes from the Schalke match, with Ridle Baku, Max Kruse and Maximilian Philipp coming in for Sebastiaan Bornauw, Mattias Svanberg and Omar Marmoush (all on the bench).
Goals
- 1-0 Nkunku (4’ pen): An unfortunate start for the Wolves as Maxence Lacroix misjudges what seems to be a harmless right-wing cross from Dani Olmo and catches it with his hand instead of his head. Referee Bastian Dankert correctly awards a penalty following a video review, and Koen Casteels has no chance from Nkunku’s shot.
- 2-0 Nkunku (90’+1): Leipzig play a one-two down the right and Timo Werner whips it into the middle, where Nkunku is free to finish from close range and settle the contest late on.
Coaches’ reaction
Niko Kovac: “Leipzig deserved to win. After just a couple of minutes we conceded a penalty – which was rightly given – and that threw us off course a little. Leipzig dominated after that. We were much improved in the second half and had a few chances to score. We’re just lacking that bit of luck at the moment, but we made too many individual mistakes towards the end. We gave possession away far too easily without Leipzig really putting us under a great deal of pressure. It’s not what we wanted but it’s what we got, so we’re not satisfied.”
Domenico Tedesco: “Our performance was on a par with our displays in the past few weeks, only this time the result is right. After the Stuttgart game we assumed we’d missed as many clear-cut chances as it was possible to miss, but we were proved wrong today. We need to kill games off much earlier. Other than that we played well – even very well in certain aspects.”
Line-ups and stats
RB Leipzig: Blaswich – Simakan, Orban, Halstenberg (81‘ Schlager) – Henrichs (42‘ Gvardiol), Laimer, Kampl (64‘ Haidara), Raum, Olmo, Nkunku – Silva (64‘ Werner)
Subs: Nickisch (GK) – Ba, Novoa, Forsberg
VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Baku, Lacroix, van de Ven, Otavio –Guilavogui (46’ F. Nmecha), Arnold (72’ Svanberg) – Kaminski (46’ Marmoush), Kruse, Philipp (58’ Brekalo) – L. Nmecha (58‘ Waldschmidt)
Subs: Pervan (GK), Fischer, Bornauw, Franjic
Goals: 1-0 Nkunku (4‘, pen), 2-0 Nkunku (90‘+1)
Yellow cards: Henrichs, Werner / Arnold, Otavio, Baku
Referee: Bastian Dankert (Rostock)
Attendance: 41,243 at Red Bull Arena
