First Team

Gladbach exploit VfL weaknesses

The Wolves were beaten 4-0 at Borussia-Park on Friday evening.

Der VfL-Wolfsburg-Spieler Maximilian Arnoldim Zweikampf um den Ball.

Five days after the 2-2 draw at home to Werder Bremen, VfL Wolfsburg slipped to their fifth consecutive away defeat on Friday evening, losing 4-0 at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Tomas Cvancara converted the home side’s first clear-cut opportunity in the 16th minute before Rocco Reitz doubled their advantage three minutes before half-time. 

The Green-and-Whites were more ambitious after the restart, but Gladbach were ruthless in front of goal and added to their lead through Franck Honorat (64’) and Alassane Plea (71’). 

Niko Kovac’s team return to Bundesliga action after the international break with a home match against RB Leipzig, who visit the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday 25 November (15:30 CET).

Goals

  • 1-0 Tomas Cvancara (16’): Honorat sends a fierce right-wing cross into the middle, where Cvancara beats Sebastiaan Bornauw to the ball and slams it into the net from the edge of the six-yard box. 

  • 2-0 Rocco Reitz (42’): A misplaced pass from Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels lands at the feet of midfielder Reitz, who beats Aster Vranckx in the area and finds the bottom left corner.

  • 3-0 Franck Honorat (64’): Honorat is first to a corner and fires the ball towards the near post from the edge of the box. Casteels gets a touch to the shot but can’t keep it out.

  • 4-0 Plea (71’): Wolfsburg lose possession and the hosts are quick to capitalise. Joe Scally squares the ball to Plea on the edge of the area and the forward sends a first-time effort into the left corner to put the seal on a frustrating defeat.

Reaction

Niko Kovac: “We started the game quite well, but then the same thing happened that has been happening to us constantly in recent weeks – we made mistakes that were punished immediately and, ultimately, the number of mistakes is reflected in the result. If you make so many mistakes, you can’t win games in the Bundesliga and that’s why we deserved to lose so heavily.”

Gerardo Seoane: “My team deserve credit for a disciplined performance with great commitment levels and a high work ethic. We faced our duels head-on and were very good in transition. We know the game swung completely in our favour, and in difficult moments we were very good at capitalising on their mistakes and were very efficient. We deserved the win overall.”

Line-ups and stats

Borussia Mönchengladbach: Nicolas – Scally, Elvedi, Wöber (82‘ Chiarodia) – Weigl, Honorat, Reitz (87‘ Ranos), Kone (77‘ Kramer), Netz – Cvancara (77‘ Neuhaus), Plea (82‘ Ngoumou)

Subs: Olschowsky (GK), Friedrich, Hack, Herrmann

VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Maehle, Bornauw, Zesiger, Rogerio (46‘ Cozza) – Vranckx, Arnold, Kaminski (55’ Baku), Paredes (67’ Cerny) – Wind, Tomas (54’ Majer)

Subs: Pervan (GK), Fischer, Gerhardt, Svanberg, Sarr

Goals: 1-0 Majer (16’), 2-0 Reitz (42’), 3-0 Honorat (64’), 4-0 Plea (71’)

Yellow cards: Elvedi / Arnold, Vranckx, Cozza

Referee: Felix Zwayer (Berlin)

Attendance: 45,308 at Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach