VfL Wolfsburg earned all three points in their first competitive game under new head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl, beating Werder Bremen 2-0 away on Saturday afternoon. Maxence Lacroix (45’+4) and Lovro Majer (84’) got the goals in front of 41,500 fans at the sold-out Wohninvest-Weserstadion, bringing an end to an 11-game winless run in the Bundesliga for the Green-and-Whites. Lacroix (76’) and Bremen’s Anthony Jung (43’) were each shown a red card for a profession foul.
The result keeps VfL 14th in the table ahead of their next fixture, at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach at the Volkswagen Arena on Sunday 7 April (kick-off 17:30 CEST).
Goals
0-1 Lacroix (45’+4): VfL find the net at the perfect time! Shortly after Bremen are reduced to 10 men, the Wolves make the most of their extra man and take the lead on the stroke of half-time. Following a corner, Cedric Zesiger finds Lacroix, who fires a low shot into the net from 12 yards out.
0-2 Majer (84’): The wind is in Bremen’s sails following VfL’s red card and just when it looks like the home side might get back into the game, Hasenhüttl’s men strike again. Lovro Majer is sent clear through on goal for the second time since coming off the bench, teed up this time by Jonas Wind, and the Croatian keeps his nerve to seal the win with a clever dinked finish.
Reaction
Ralph Hasenhüttl: “Today was exactly the intense afternoon we expected against a team that plays good football. At the start, we were lucky to stay in the game when Pavao Pervan made a great save. Then came the situation with the red card, which I think was okay to give, just like ours was. When we scored just before half-time, it changed lots of things. In the second half we were a long way from doing what we wanted to do. We allowed Bremen back into the game with our red card. Something like that can quickly change a game. But I think the three substitutions we made after that gave us the decisive quality we needed to secure this very, very important win.”
Ole Werner: “We played well for 35 minutes, got into the final third well and had good chances, but we lacked the ruthlessness to put them away. As has often been the case in recent weeks, we weren't clinical enough in the decisive moments. You can't win in the Bundesliga with that kind of inconsistency. It was obviously difficult after the red card, but we shouldn't have fallen behind. With a man down, we wanted to defend well against a team with a great deal of quality. We even had every opportunity to come back after Wolfsburg’s red card, but then we conceded again. At the end of the day, we deserved to come away with nothing today.”
Line-ups and stats
Werder Bremen: Zetterer – Veljkovic, Friedl, Jung – Agu (88. Opitz), Alvero (79‘ Hansen-Aaröen), Deman, Schmid (88‘ Imasuen), Bittencourt (67‘ Groß) – Ducksch, Woltemade (67‘ Keita)
Subs: Pavlenka (GK), Malatini, Pieper, Röcker, Imasuen, Opitz
VfL Wolfsburg: Pervan – Maehle, Lacroix, Bornauw, Zesiger – Baku (60‘ Majer), Arnold, Gerhardt (83‘ Vranckx), Paredes – Behrens (82‘ Fischer), Sarr (83‘ Wind)
Subs: Klinger (GK), Jenz, Cerny, Svanberg, Tomas
Goals: 0-1 Lacroix (45‘+4), 0-2 Majer (84‘)
Yellow cards: Agu, Ducksch, Alvero, Hansen-Aaröen / Baku, Bornauw, Zesiger, Paredes
Red cards: Jung (43’), Lacroix (76’)
Referee: Sascha Stegemann (Niederkassel)
Attendance: 41,500 at Wohninvest-Weserstadion (sold out)
