First Team

Wolves fight back twice

VfL twice came from behind to draw 2-2 against Gladbach.

VfL Wolfsburg registered their second successive draw on Saturday afternoon. In an exciting contest at the Volkswagen Arena, Niko Kovac’s men drew 2-2 with Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Yannick Gerhardt (43’) and Omar Marmoush (69’) scored the goals for the Green-and-Whites in front of a crowd of 26,701, cancelling out Gladbach’s two goals from Marcus Thuram (13’, 48’). VfL remain in 13th place in the table for the moment.

The Wolves’ next assignment is this Tuesday, 18 October (kick-off 20:45 CEST), when they travel to Bundesliga 2 side Eintracht Braunschweig in the second round of the DFB Cup.

Goals

0-1 Thuram (13’): Gladbach move through the gears for the first time in the match. Thuram ghosts into the penalty area and buries the ball into the net from nine metres.
 
1-1 Gerhardt (43’): It’s Gerhardt again! Jakub Kaminski feeds Paulo Otavio at the right moment, and he picks out Gerhardt lurking in the middle, whose third goal of the season deservedly draws the Wolves level.
 
1-2 Thuram (48’): Thuram meets a corner to put Gladbach back in the lead at 2-1.
 
2-2 Marmoush (69’): Off the bench and on the scoresheet! Otavio is the provider again, crossing to Marmoush, and the Egyptian brings the ball down brilliantly before thumping it into the far corner. A great goal!

Coaches’ reaction

Niko Kovac: “Everyone in the stadium saw a very good game. It was an advert for the Bundesliga. Both sides tried to win, but I also have to say my team delivered an exceptionally good performance. Without the ball it was decent, but with the ball it was the best we’ve shown this season. We had a lot of really good chances, hit the woodwork twice, so we would’ve deserved to win the game. This means that if we can regularly produce this in the future, we can be a match for a lot of teams in the Bundesliga.”

Daniel Farke: “Of course, when you’re the coach of a team that was in the lead twice, I can only be completely satisfied if we then win the game. That said, I think the result is completely fair. We controlled the game at the start but then, with that feeling of dominance, we became too passive and at times weren’t precise enough in our passing. You also have to acknowledge the quality of the opponents. Wolfsburg played with high intensity and created chances. On the whole, it’s a good away point for us against a good team, so we’ll go home content.”

Line-ups and stats

VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Baku, Lacroix (89‘ Guilavogui), van de Ven, Otavio – Arnold, Svanberg (59’ F. Nmecha), Gerhardt, Wimmer (73‘ Paredes), Kaminski (89‘ Wind) – L. Nmecha (59‘ Marmoush)

Subs: Pervan (GK), Fischer, Bornauw, Waldschmidt

Borussia Mönchengladbach: Sommer – Scally, Friedrich, Elvedi, Bensebaini – Weigl, Kone, Hofmann, Stindl (89‘ Herrmann), Plea (77‘ Ngoumou) – Thuram

Subs: Sippel (GK), Jantschke, Lainer, Netz, Noß, Reitz, Borges Sanches

Goals: 0-1 Thuram (13’), 1-1 Gerhardt (43’), 1-2 Thuram (47’), 2-2 Marmoush (69’)

Yelow cards: Wimmer, Otavio, Arnold / Weigl, Stindl, Kone

Referee: Benjamin Cortus (Röthenbach)

Attendance: 26,701 at Volkswagen Arena