VfL Wolfsburg collected a point on the road on Bundesliga Matchday 20 following a 1-1 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday afternoon. Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side took a deserved lead shortly after the break thanks to an own goal by Frankfurt defender Tuta (50’), but the hosts dominated the latter stages and levelled through Can Uzun (81’) in front of a crowd of 56,900 at Deutsche Bank Park.
Debuts for Müller and Roerslev
Two Wolves players made their Bundesliga debuts in Frankfurt. Marius Müller replaced the injured Kamil Grabara in goal in the 66th minute, while new signing Mads Roerslev came on for Tiago Tomas in the 76th minute.
VfL end the matchday in 10th place in the table. They welcome defending champions Bayer Leverkusen to the Volkswagen Arena next Saturday, 8 February (kick-off 15:30 CET).
Goals
- 0-1 Tuta (50’ o.g.): Great start to the second half! After a long ball from deep, Jonas Wind nods the ball into the path of Mohammed Amoura. The Algerian is clever in the tussle with Tuta and forces him into an own goal, the Eintracht defender poking the ball past Kevin Trapp.
- 1-1 Uzun (81’): Frankfurt’s substitute strikes: a cross from midway inside the Wolfsburg half lands perfectly on the head of the oncoming Uzun, who nets from the centre of the penalty box.
Reactions
Ralph Hasenhüttl: “We’d definitely have settled for the draw before the game, but if you’re in front after 80 minutes and end up surrendering your lead, it doesn’t feel that good anymore. It’s still an important point at the end of the day – one that not many teams manage to get in Frankfurt. It was a relatively even game, even if we didn’t give much away before the equaliser. We were very solid and had a good grip on the game. After [the equaliser] the stadium obviously became very animated and we came under severe pressure. Looking at the opportunities as a whole, though, it was a deserved point.”
Dino Toppmöller: “It was a promising start to the game with a good chance at both ends. After that, it was a relatively boring game in the first half. We got into more dangerous areas after the restart but ended up conceding from a simple long ball. The players who came on brought good energy onto the pitch and it was a decent last 30 minutes from us. After scoring a good equaliser we were pushing for the winner, which we may have deserved on the balance of the second half. But because of the first half, a 1-1 draw against a Wolfsburg side who have performed really well away from home this season is a fair result.”
Line-ups and stats
Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp – Tuta, Koch (15‘ Kristensen), Theate – Skhiri (68‘ Uzun), Höjlund (56‘ Larsson), Collins, Brown (68‘ Nkounkou), Götze, Knauff (56‘ Bahoya) – Ekitike
Subs: Kaua Santos (GK), Chandler, Chaibi, Dahoud
VfL Wolfsburg: Grabara (66‘ Müller) – Fischer, Vavro, Koulierakis, Maehle – Arnold, Svanberg (75‘ Dardai), Gerhardt, Tomas (76‘ Roerslev), Amoura (85‘ Nmecha) – Wind (85‘ Behrens)
Subs: Skov Olsen, Bornauw, Vranckx, Kaminski
Goals: 0-1 Tuta (50‘, own goal), 1-1 Uzun (81‘)
Yellow cards: Bahoya / Maehle, Svanberg, Gerhardt
Referee: Benjamin Brand (Schwebheim)
Attendance: 56,900 at Deutsche Bank Park (Frankfurt)
