VfL Wolfsburg suffered their third straight defeat on Matchday 26 of the Bundesliga. The Lower Saxony side, who again had a man sent off, went down to a 3-1 loss against Augsburg on Saturday afternoon, which sees them slip to 14th place in the table.
Patrick Wimmer gave the Wolves an early lead on his first start since his lengthy injury lay-off, netting his first goal of the season after nine minutes. Thanks to a spirited performance, VfL were the better team in the first half but saw their lead cancelled out in stoppage time. After goalscorer Wimmer was shown a red card for foul play, Arne Maier found the back of the net from the resulting free-kick. A brace from Kristijan Jakic then settled the contest for the visitors in the second half.
Goals
1-0 Patrick Wimmer (9’): First blood to the Wolves. The ball comes from Joakim Maehle to Maxence Lacroix, who picks out Wimmer in the centre. The Austrian shoots skilfully on the turn and buries the ball into the Augsburg net from around 10 metres.
1-1 Arne Maier (45’+2): A bitter blow. After the red card to Wimmer, the subsequent free-kick on the edge of the area results in the equaliser. Maier’s strike is deflected by Wolfsburg captain Maximilian Arnold, leaving goalkeeper Pavao Pervan with no chance.
1-2 Kristijan Jakic (61’): Augsburg complete the turnaround. The Wolfsburg defence fail to clear a cross from the left, Jakic gets to the ball seven metres from goal and slots it into the left corner.
1-3 Kristijan Jakic (79’): Jakic seals it with his second goal, firing a low shot into the left corner from 16 metres. Pervan can’t reach the ball and FCA lead 3-1.
Reaction
Niko Kovac: “The red card took us out of the game. We did everything we set out to do in the first half – created chances and got the goal. We needed to score the second, which we didn’t manage, and then came the red card and the equaliser. For me it was clearly a wrong decision, which completely changed the game in the second half. It’s incredibly disappointing for us.”
Jess Thorup: “Wolfsburg did everything right in the first half, I wasn’t happy with my team at all. We were lucky to go in 1-1 at the break. In the second half, with 11 against 10, we did much better, scored two nice goals and didn’t give away any chances. We’re pleased with the three points.”
Line-ups and stats
VfL Wolfsburg: Pervan – Baku (78‘ Majer), Lacroix, Zesiger, Maehle – Svanberg (86‘ Vranckx), Arnold, Wimmer, Tomas (67‘ Sarr), Paredes (86‘ Rogerio) – Wind
Subs: Klinger (GK), Bornauw, Fischer, Cerny, Behrens
FC Augsburg: Dahmen – Mbabu, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Iago – Jakic, Jensen (65‘ Biel), Maier (76‘ Pedersen), Vargas (76‘ Engels) – Tietz (82‘ Beljo), Demirovic (83‘ Michel)
Subs: Koubek (GK), M. Bauer, Gumny, Kömür
Goals: 1-0 Wimmer (9’), 1-1 Maier (45’+2), 1-2 Jakic (61’), 1-3 Jakic (79’)
Yellow cards: Svanberg / Jensen, Biel
Red card: Patrick Wimmer / -
Referee: Timo Gerach (Landau)
Attendance: 21,735 at Volkswagen Arena
