VfL Wolfsburg were left disappointed and frustrated after the 2-0 home defeat to Paris St. Germain in their Champions League semi-final. It was a bad day all round for Ralf Kellermann’s side, who made two mistakes at the back and created almost nothing going forward.
You have to look at the statistics to understand the extent of the defeat. Wolfsburg have won the German title for the last two seasons, they were unbeaten in their first 24 Champions League games in the club’s history and were unbeaten at home since 2011 – but then came this defeat, which was fully deserved.
But there’s no time for them to lick their wounds. On Sunday (18:00 CEST), Wolfsburg have the chance to make up for the first leg defeat as they travel to the French capital for the second leg.
“If we play to our potential in Paris then we can win”
“I’m certain that we can win the second leg. PSG are a good side, we know that. If we play to our potential in Paris then we can win,” said Norwegian Caroline Hansen. “I believe that we can overturn the 2-0 defeat if we show our quality and give 110%. Then anything is possible. We can just as easily score two goals as three goals in Paris,” added Germany international Alex Popp.
For now, the focus is on the Allianz Women’s Bundesliga as they take on fifth place SGS Essen tonight (18:30 CEST). “My colleague at Essen Markus Högner will set his side up for us and will have faith in their home form,” said VfL manager Kellermann. “I’m expecting them to play freely and they will want to put in a committed performance in their final game at home. We have to concentrate and be more attacking than we were recently in the Champions League.”
The situation for Wolfsburg is clear: Only a win tonight would keep winning the title in their final game in their own hands. However, their last game won’t be easy as they come up against 1. FFC Frankfurt (10th May, 14:00 CEST).
Frankfurt on a good run
The problem for Wolfsburg is that Frankfurt are on a good run at the moment. The third placed side have won their last eight games in the league. And in the Champions League semi-finals, they beat Bröndby IF 7-0 in the first leg, which leaves Colin Bell’s side in a commanding position going into the return fixture on Saturday (12:00 CEST) and with a good chance of reaching the final in Berlin on 14th May.
However, they return to Allianz Women’s Bundesliga action tonight against TSG Hoffenheim (18:30 CEST) and winning is a must for 1. FFC. “We want to take the momentum from the 7-0 into the game and we’ll give everything we’ve got,” said Bell. “We have fought hard to get this far and our aim is to finish at least second.”
However, the game against sixth placed Hoffenheim won’t be a walk in the park and FFC’s manager knows that: “We’re expecting a tough game and it’ll require our full concentration. Our opposition have taken a huge step forward in only their second year in the Allianz Women’s Bundesliga. Once again, we’ll have to do everything we can and push ourselves to the limit.”
Frankfurt will be doing everything they can to get into second and therefore guarantee Champions League football next season. “We want to win our ninth game in a row to set up the chance to qualify for the Champions League on the final game against VfL Wolfsburg,” said Frankfurt sporting director Siegfried Dietrich. The battle for the title has never been so close in the Allianz Women’s Bundesliga with Wolfsburg on 51 points, Bayern München on 50 and Frankfurt only a point further behind on 49 with two games remaining. The showdown begins tonight.
created by mmc/fs
VfL Wolfsburg were left disappointed and frustrated after the 2-0 home defeat to Paris St. Germain in their Champions League semi-final. It was a bad day all round for Ralf Kellermann’s side, who made two mistakes at the back and created almost nothing going forward.
You have to look at the statistics to understand the extent of the defeat. Wolfsburg have won the German title for the last two seasons, they were unbeaten in their first 24 Champions League games in the club’s history and were unbeaten at home since 2011 – but then came this defeat, which was fully deserved.
But there’s no time for them to lick their wounds. On Sunday (18:00 CEST), Wolfsburg have the chance to make up for the first leg defeat as they travel to the French capital for the second leg.
“If we play to our potential in Paris then we can win”
“I’m certain that we can win the second leg. PSG are a good side, we know that. If we play to our potential in Paris then we can win,” said Norwegian Caroline Hansen. “I believe that we can overturn the 2-0 defeat if we show our quality and give 110%. Then anything is possible. We can just as easily score two goals as three goals in Paris,” added Germany international Alex Popp.
For now, the focus is on the Allianz Women’s Bundesliga as they take on fifth place SGS Essen tonight (18:30 CEST). “My colleague at Essen Markus Högner will set his side up for us and will have faith in their home form,” said VfL manager Kellermann. “I’m expecting them to play freely and they will want to put in a committed performance in their final game at home. We have to concentrate and be more attacking than we were recently in the Champions League.”
The situation for Wolfsburg is clear: Only a win tonight would keep winning the title in their final game in their own hands. However, their last game won’t be easy as they come up against 1. FFC Frankfurt (10th May, 14:00 CEST).
Frankfurt on a good run
The problem for Wolfsburg is that Frankfurt are on a good run at the moment. The third placed side have won their last eight games in the league. And in the Champions League semi-finals, they beat Bröndby IF 7-0 in the first leg, which leaves Colin Bell’s side in a commanding position going into the return fixture on Saturday (12:00 CEST) and with a good chance of reaching the final in Berlin on 14th May.
However, they return to Allianz Women’s Bundesliga action tonight against TSG Hoffenheim (18:30 CEST) and winning is a must for 1. FFC. “We want to take the momentum from the 7-0 into the game and we’ll give everything we’ve got,” said Bell. “We have fought hard to get this far and our aim is to finish at least second.”
However, the game against sixth placed Hoffenheim won’t be a walk in the park and FFC’s manager knows that: “We’re expecting a tough game and it’ll require our full concentration. Our opposition have taken a huge step forward in only their second year in the Allianz Women’s Bundesliga. Once again, we’ll have to do everything we can and push ourselves to the limit.”
Frankfurt will be doing everything they can to get into second and therefore guarantee Champions League football next season. “We want to win our ninth game in a row to set up the chance to qualify for the Champions League on the final game against VfL Wolfsburg,” said Frankfurt sporting director Siegfried Dietrich. The battle for the title has never been so close in the Allianz Women’s Bundesliga with Wolfsburg on 51 points, Bayern München on 50 and Frankfurt only a point further behind on 49 with two games remaining. The showdown begins tonight.
