VfL Wolfsburg put an end to their four-match losing run with a 2-2 draw away to 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday afternoon. After a flying start with a superb goal from Maximilian Arnold (3’), Mainz turned the game around thanks to a quickfire double from Jae-Sung Lee (37’) and Dominik Kohr (40’) to lead 2-1 at half-time.
Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side lacked penetration for much of the second half but never gave up in their search for an equaliser, which eventually came from the head of Denis Vavro shortly before the final whistle (89’).
GOALS
- 0-1 Arnold (3’): A dream start for VfL! Kevin Paredes starts the attack and drives forward down the right side. After a one-two with Jonas Wind, the returnee lays the ball off to Arnold, who effortlessly curls it into the bottom right corner from around 30 metres.
- 1-1 Lee (37’): Mainz equalise. Nadiem Amiri passes to Nelson Weiper on the edge of the penalty box in a central position. He slips it through to Lee, who’s completely free to slot it into the far corner.
- 2-1 Kohr (40’): The hosts turn it around. A corner from the left sails past everyone in the middle. It drops to Kohr, who sticks out a leg and the ball bounces over the line.
- 2-2 Vavro (89’): Yesss! The late equaliser for VfL! Arnold delivers a corner from the right to the far post, where Vavro is waiting to head towards goal. A deflection off Anthony Caci takes it past Robin Zentner.
Reaction
Bo Henriksen: “After the first 20 minutes, I had a chat with the players while Robin Zentner was being treated and switched the tactics a bit. After that we were brilliant in every respect. We obviously should’ve scored one or two goals in the second half. Everyone could see we were the better team, but sometimes in the football the better team don’t win.”
Ralph Hasenhüttl: “It was a very intense match between two sides who didn’t give up anything in terms of passion, attitude and emotions. After the break, we saw the tremendous power Mainz have. That makes me even prouder that my team stood their ground, despite all the personnel problems. We’re down to the bare bones in the centre of defence in particular. Denis Vavro shouldn’t have actually still been on the pitch for his equalising goal because he was on his last legs. It was important for us to finally get something again. And when I look at the statistics, the point isn’t entirely undeserved.”
Line-ups and stats
1. FSV Mainz 05: Zentner – da Costa, Jenz, Kohr (76‘ Hanche-Olsen) – Caci, Sano, Amiri, Veratschnig (89‘ Widmer) – Lee (90‘+2 Nordin), Weiper (76‘ Hong) – Burkardt
Subs: Rieß (GK), Batz (Tor), Maloney, Sieb
VfL Wolfsburg: Grabara – Fischer, Vavro, Koulierakis – Dardai, Arnold, Maehle – Paredes (63‘ Tomas), Wind (74‘ Kaminski), Wimmer (63‘ Svanberg – 85‘ Majer) – Amoura (63‘ Nmecha)
Subs: Pervan (GK), Bialek, Behrens, Neininger
Goals: 0-1 Arnold (3‘), 1-1 Lee (37‘), 2-1 Kohr (40‘), 2-2 Vavro (89‘)
Yellow cards: Kohr, Veratschnig / Tomas, Maehle, Vavro
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Berlin)
Attendance: 31,500 at Mewa Arena (Mainz)
