VfL Wolfsburg suffered a heavy defeat on Matchday 16 of the Bundesliga, losing 1–8 (1–2) away to FC Bayern Munich. In front of a sold-out Allianz Arena, head coach Daniel Bauer’s side were beaten by the record champions despite a courageous start. After Dzenan Pejcinovic had pulled the Wolves level at 1–1, Bayern’s dangerous wide players Olise and Diaz turned the game decisively in the hosts’ favour. Munich ran riot after the break, while VfL conceded two own goals and were ultimately unable to withstand the pressure. Wolfsburg are back in action on Wednesday, January 14, when FC St. Pauli visit the Volkswagen Arena for a 6.30pm kick-off.
Personnel
Compared to the final game before the winter break against SC Freiburg, VfL head coach Daniel Bauer made three changes to his starting XI. Moritz Jenz came in for the ill Jenson Seelt, while Kilian Fischer and Mattias Svanberg replaced Aaron Zehnter and Yannick Gerhardt, who both started on the bench. In attack, Bauer once again put his faith in Dzenan Pejcinovic, who had impressed with a hat-trick against Freiburg. For FC Bayern, Manuel Neuer returned between the posts after a spell out, replacing Jonas Urbig. Konrad Laimer, Tom Bischof and Aleksandar Pavlovic also started in defence and midfield, while Hiroki Ito, Leon Goretzka and Raphael Guerreiro initially took their places on the bench.
Match action
VfL Wolfsburg started boldly and applied early pressure on FC Bayern. Despite the visitors’ confident approach, the record champions took the lead with their first clear attacking move: after a sharp pass from Luis Diaz, Kilian Fischer unfortunately diverted the ball into his own net (5’). The Green-Whites were undeterred, continued to compete aggressively and looked to play forward. Their efforts were rewarded when Lovro Majer initiated an attack following a turnover in midfield and slipped the ball through to Pejcinovic, who kept his composure in front of Manuel Neuer to make it 1–1 (13’). The match remained intense, with both sides pressing high, looking to break quickly and creating chances. Pejcinovic had the best opportunity for VfL, while Luis Diaz and Lennart Karl posed a threat at the other end. In the 30th minute, the favourites went back in front: Michael Olise delivered a pinpoint cross from the right, and Diaz headed home to make it 2–1. The Wolves stayed brave, attempted to play their way out of pressure situations and created shooting opportunities mainly through Majer and Wimmer, though without finding the target. Shortly before half-time, Bayern threatened again, but Kamil Grabara and a well-organised defence prevented further damage. At the other end, Kumbedi’s long-range effort failed to trouble Neuer. VfL went into the break trailing just 1–2 after a courageous first-half display.
