First Team

Third successive draw

VfL Wolfsburg drew 1-1 again at home to 1. FC Köln.

Wolfsburg’s third match of 2024 ended in a third 1-1 draw, although unlike the two trips to Mainz and Heidenheim, it was the Wolves who came from behind against Köln. In a hard-fought contest, the first half was held up for around 15 minutes because one of the assistant referees was knocked out by a clearance from a Köln player. 

Goals

0-1 Alidou (38’): Oh, that’s unlucky: Joakim Maehle flicks on a Köln free kick straight onto the head of Faride Alidou, who leaves Koen Casteels with no chance.

1-1 Paredes (40’): The perfect response! Jonas Wind opens up the play with a good pass to Vaclav Cerny, who waits briefly before playing the ball onto Maehle. The Dane takes two or three quick steps and then squares it into the penalty area, where Kevin Paredes arrives with perfect timing to slot in the equaliser.

Reaction

Niko Kovac: “We’re not making progress at the moment, but that’s just how it is when you’re drawing games. Both teams played very intense football over 90 minutes, did a lot of running and sprinting, and gave everything at the end to win this game. I think we had the slightly better chances, but on the whole the draw is a fair result.”

Timo Schultz: “I think the draw is about right. It’s a good point for us, which takes us up one place in the table. We took the lead with a nice goal but unfortunately couldn’t preserve it for long enough. We certainly had fortune on our side in one or two situations, as well as an on-form Marvin Schwäbe in goal. We conceded very little in the second half and had three or four good situations on the counter ourselves, where we didn’t get that bit of luck.”

Line-ups and stats

VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Maehle (82‘ Fischer), Lacroix, Jenz, Rogerio – Svanberg, Vranckx – Cerny (71‘ Baku), Majer (71‘ Tomas), Paredes – Wind (82‘ Pejcinovic)

Subs: Pervan (GK), Zesiger, Bornauw, Kaminski

1. FC Köln: Schwäbe – Schmitz (62‘ Carstensen), Hübers, Chabot, Finkgräfe – Martel, Huseinbasic – Ljubicic (76‘ Diehl), Kainz (87‘ Christensen), Alidou (62‘ Maina) – Thielmann (87‘ Dietz)

Subs: Pentke (GK), Heintz, Kilian, Adamyan

Goals: 0-1 Alidou (38‘), 1-1 Paredes (40‘)

Yellow cards: Svanberg, Maehle, Paredes, Lacroix, Pejcinovic / Schmitz, Ljubicic, Huseinbasic

Referee: Sören Storks (Velen)

Attendance: 24,525 at Volkswagen Arena