VfL Wolfsburg slipped to a 2-0 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach on Easter Sunday. Nathan Ngoumou (34’) and Marcus Thuram (63’) got the goals for the hosts after the Wolves were unable to make the most of their chances in a strong opening period. The result means Niko Kovac’s side remain ninth in the Bundesliga standings.
The Green-and-Whites are in action again on Sunday 16 April at the Volkswagen Arena in the Matchday 28 curtain-closer against fellow European hopefuls Bayer 04 Leverkusen (kick-off: 19:30 CEST).
Goals
- 1-0 Ngoumou (34’): Koen Casteels’ pass to Maximilian Arnold lacks precision, allowing Gladbach to nip in and gain possession. Lars Stindl and Thuram work the ball to Ngoumou, who smashes it into the net from 13 metres out.
- 2-0 Thuram (63’): The knockout blow. A cross from Ngoumou to the back post finds Alassane Plea, who nods the ball into the middle for the unmarked Thuram to head in.
Reaction
Niko Kovac: “Obviously that game didn’t pan out the way we wanted it to. We played really well in the first half, we dominated Gladbach but then we made a silly mistake that cost us a goal. It’s extremely frustrating, but it can happen. We started pretty well in the second half too and had a great chance to make it 1-1. After we went 2-0 down I didn’t see any fight left in the team. We just didn’t take advantage of our best chances, and we didn’t make the right decisions in the final third – the final ball was lacking today. That’s what we were missing.”
Daniel Farke: “It’s obviously a good day if you can get a win against good opponents. It was a really tight game against a good team. We took the lead with a good interception and a clinical finish. That gave us a bit more security, but Wolfsburg still had a really good chance at the start of the second half. But after that we played really well and were solid. We didn’t allow them any more chances.”
Line-ups and stats
Borussia M`gladbach: Omlin – Scally (75‘ Lainer), Itakura, Elvedi, Bensebaini – Kramer, Neuhaus (90‘+2 Friedrich), Ngoumou (69‘ H. Wolf), Stindl (69‘ Hofmann), Plea (90‘+2 Netz) – Thuram
Subs: Olschowsky (GK), Fraulo, Weigl, Herrmann
VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Fischer (81’ Guilavogui), Lacroix, van de Ven, Otavio – F. Nmecha, Arnold (59’ Paredes), Gerhardt (59‘ Waldschmidt), Svanberg, Kaminski – Marmoush (71’ Wind)
Subs: Pervan (GK), Bornauw, Cozza, Ambros, Pejcinovic
Goals: 1-0 Ngoumou (34‘), 2-0 Thuram (63‘)
Yellow Cards: - / Lacroix
Referee: Timo Gerach (Landau)
Attendance: 51,127 at BORUSSIA-PARK
