Head coach Bruno Labbadia made no fewer than six changes to the team that drew 1-1 with Norwich City last weekend, bringing in Pavao Pervan, William, John Brooks, Josuha Guilavogui, Renato Steffen, and Daniel Ginczek. The Wolves looked confident and composed in possession early on, but fell behind after 15 minutes when Bertrand Traore turned in Martin Terrier’s left-wing cross from point-blank range. It got worse for VfL before the interval when Terrier was left unmarked to volley home from a corner, leaving Labbadia’s side with a mountain to climb.
VfL started the second half brightly and almost pulled a goal back just before the hour mark, but Yunus Malli failed to get his shot off following a neat one-two with Admir Mehmedi. Maximilian Arnold’s long-range drive halved the deficit mid-way through the second period, but the Wolves failed to find the equaliser their efforts deserved. The Green-Whites will hope to bounce back when they take on Dutch giants Ajax this coming Friday (kick-off 18:00 CEST).
“It was a very good lesson”
VfL head coach Bruno Labbadia: “It was a superb test for us in every respect. We would’ve liked to have won the game but we made too many easy mistakes, particularly in the first half, and that’s why we went 2-0 down. We found a solution by making tactical changes and we improved in the second half as a result. We can take an awful lot of positives from the game. It was a very good lesson and it was important for us to face tough opposition.”
Olympique Lyon: Gorgelin – Dubois (62' Tete), Marcelo, Morel, Mendy (62' Rafael da Silva) – Tousart (87' Martins Pereira) – Aouar (70' Diop), Ferri (62' Ndombele) – Memphis (79' Fekir) – Terrier (83' Caqueret), Traore (70' Cornet)
VfL Wolfsburg: Pervan – William (68' Verhaegh), Knoche (68' Bruma), Brooks, Uduokhai – Camacho (77' Rexhbecaj) – Steffen (46' Mehmedi), Guilavogui (64' Arnold), Gerhardt (46' Malli), Brekalo (46' Itter) – Ginczek (46' Weghorst)
Goals: 1-0 Traore (15'), 2-0 Terrier (36'), 2-1 Arnold (67')
Yellow cards: Mendy, Ferri / Brekalo, Camacho, Guilavogui, Uduokhai
