VfL Wolfsburg will go into the relegation play-off second leg with a 1-0 lead after Mario Gomez converted from a first-half penalty. It was the Germany international’s eleventh goal in his last 13 games. The second-leg takes place this Monday in Braunschweig at 20:30 CEST.
Wolfsburg looked the more dominant side in front of the 29,100 fans at the Volkswagen-Arena and set the tempo. Luiz Gustavo could have put the home side into the lead after just two minutes but he could not find the target with his effort. Neither side looked nervous in a fast-paced affair. Wolfsburg’s technical superiority was clear to see but it was only at set-pieces where they looked dangerous.
Boland misses biggest chance for Braunschweig
Gomez slipped in the 11th minute and failed to connect from a Yunus Malli free-kick but Braunschweig keeper Jasmin Fejzic was forced into a fine fingertip save nine minutes later to parry yet another Malli free-kick onto the post.
Braunschweig were sitting deep in their own half but then had the best chance of the match after breaking on the counter. Christoffer Nyman beat Yannik Gerhardt and chipped the ball beautifully into the path of Mirko Boland who had the goal gaping in front of him but his header somehow dropped wide as he fell to his knees realised the opportunity he had just forgone.
Gomez cool from the spot
Wolfsburg still struggled to pose any real threat going forward but January signing Malli struck the arm of Tunisian defender Gustav Valsvik with a powerful shot and the referee blew for a controversial penalty despite Malli’s strike coming from point-blank range. The former Bayern man and stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way and put Wolfsburg 1-0 up. It remained a cagey first half and the scoreline did not change before the break.
Wolfsburg took the initiative right from the outset at the start of the second half and found themselves in and around the Braunschweig area. Malli played Didavi through with a superb pass but the forward was unable to be Fejzic and give Wolfsburg that two-goal cushion they were searching for, only hitting the side-netting.
Fejzic saves from Gomez and Didavi
Fejzic had to be at his best as Wolfsburg ramped up the pressure on the second-division side. The keeper had to be on hand to save from Gomez’s header in the 55th minute and then had to be on his toes just four minutes later to keep out Didavi and keep Braunschweig in the game.
The side from the 2. Bundesliga struggled to create much going forward as the match began to fizzle out. It ended 1-0 to the hosts, who will be rueing the fact that they were unable to double their lead but will be satisfied not to have conceded an away goal.
VfL Wolfsburg will go into the relegation play-off second leg with a 1-0 lead after Mario Gomez converted from a first-half penalty. It was the Germany international’s eleventh goal in his last 13 games. The second-leg takes place this Monday in Braunschweig at 20:30 CEST.
Wolfsburg looked the more dominant side in front of the 29,100 fans at the Volkswagen-Arena and set the tempo. Luiz Gustavo could have put the home side into the lead after just two minutes but he could not find the target with his effort. Neither side looked nervous in a fast-paced affair. Wolfsburg’s technical superiority was clear to see but it was only at set-pieces where they looked dangerous.
Boland misses biggest chance for Braunschweig
Gomez slipped in the 11th minute and failed to connect from a Yunus Malli free-kick but Braunschweig keeper Jasmin Fejzic was forced into a fine fingertip save nine minutes later to parry yet another Malli free-kick onto the post.
Braunschweig were sitting deep in their own half but then had the best chance of the match after breaking on the counter. Christoffer Nyman beat Yannik Gerhardt and chipped the ball beautifully into the path of Mirko Boland who had the goal gaping in front of him but his header somehow dropped wide as he fell to his knees realised the opportunity he had just forgone.
Gomez cool from the spot
Wolfsburg still struggled to pose any real threat going forward but January signing Malli struck the arm of Tunisian defender Gustav Valsvik with a powerful shot and the referee blew for a controversial penalty despite Malli’s strike coming from point-blank range. The former Bayern man and stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way and put Wolfsburg 1-0 up. It remained a cagey first half and the scoreline did not change before the break.
Wolfsburg took the initiative right from the outset at the start of the second half and found themselves in and around the Braunschweig area. Malli played Didavi through with a superb pass but the forward was unable to be Fejzic and give Wolfsburg that two-goal cushion they were searching for, only hitting the side-netting.
Fejzic saves from Gomez and Didavi
Fejzic had to be at his best as Wolfsburg ramped up the pressure on the second-division side. The keeper had to be on hand to save from Gomez’s header in the 55th minute and then had to be on his toes just four minutes later to keep out Didavi and keep Braunschweig in the game.
The side from the 2. Bundesliga struggled to create much going forward as the match began to fizzle out. It ended 1-0 to the hosts, who will be rueing the fact that they were unable to double their lead but will be satisfied not to have conceded an away goal.
