VfL Wolfsburg collected an important three points at 1899 Hoffenheim’s expense in the Bundesliga relegation battle as they ruined Julian Nagelsmann’s one year anniversary at the club. Valerian Ismaël’s side ran out 2-1 winners to claim victory after three straight defeats and increased the gap between themselves and the relegation zone to six points.
Hoffenheim took the lead through Steven Zuber in the 26th minute but Maximilian Arnold netted the equaliser just a few minutes after the break with a fantastic half-volley. Substitute Daniel Didavi then turned the match in the Wolves’ favour with the winning goal in the 73rd minute. Hoffenheim missed the chance to climb to third place with their second away defeat in a row as they failed to take advantage of slip-ups from RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund.
Hoffenheim stronger in the first half
Hoffenheim, who started with the same team that beat Mainz 4-0 last week, had things comfortably under control during the first 45 minutes. But Nagelsmann’s side lacked that decisive instinct and found themselves increasingly on the back foot against a passionate and battling Wolfsburg side in the second half.
Nagelsmann, who was celebrating one year as head coach at Hoffenheim, was on his feat as Kerem Demirbay’s curling free-kick from 20 metres out clattered off the crossbar. From that moment on, the away side started to really get stuck in and did not let an injury to Mark Uth, who was forced off in the 23rd minute with a bruise to his rib, disrupt their rhythm. The goal looked like it was coming and Zuber accordingly fired home put TSG 1-0 up and nearly got a second in the 39th minute.
Gomez fails to beat Baumann
Wolfsburg initially struggled to respond. Yunus Malli did provide some threat in attack but Mario Gomez and the rest of the Wolfsburg forwards could not break down the TSG defence. The constant instructions coming from coach Ismael also did not help as VfL failed to create any clear-cut opportunities before half-time.
That changed right from the restart and it was the lively substitute Didavi who particularly made an impact. The midfielder headed over the bar in the 47th minute but then found Gomez brilliantly. However the unmarked Germany international still could not find the target.
Substitute Didavi hits the winner
The 1899 keeper could then do nothing about the resulting corner. Arnold hammered home from 20 metres out after a poor clearance to get the home side back on level terms. The goalscorer then tested Baumann once again just a couple of minutes later with a long-range effort.
Yet Hoffenheim continued to look dangerous and Wolfsburg keeper Diego Benaglio had to be at his best to keep out Demirbay’s strike. Substitute Jakub Blaszczykowski cleared an Adam Szalai shot off the line before Didavi tapped in after a corner to bag the winner.
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VfL Wolfsburg collected an important three points at 1899 Hoffenheim’s expense in the Bundesliga relegation battle as they ruined Julian Nagelsmann’s one year anniversary at the club. Valerian Ismaël’s side ran out 2-1 winners to claim victory after three straight defeats and increased the gap between themselves and the relegation zone to six points.
Hoffenheim took the lead through Steven Zuber in the 26th minute but Maximilian Arnold netted the equaliser just a few minutes after the break with a fantastic half-volley. Substitute Daniel Didavi then turned the match in the Wolves’ favour with the winning goal in the 73rd minute. Hoffenheim missed the chance to climb to third place with their second away defeat in a row as they failed to take advantage of slip-ups from RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund.
Hoffenheim stronger in the first half
Hoffenheim, who started with the same team that beat Mainz 4-0 last week, had things comfortably under control during the first 45 minutes. But Nagelsmann’s side lacked that decisive instinct and found themselves increasingly on the back foot against a passionate and battling Wolfsburg side in the second half.
Nagelsmann, who was celebrating one year as head coach at Hoffenheim, was on his feat as Kerem Demirbay’s curling free-kick from 20 metres out clattered off the crossbar. From that moment on, the away side started to really get stuck in and did not let an injury to Mark Uth, who was forced off in the 23rd minute with a bruise to his rib, disrupt their rhythm. The goal looked like it was coming and Zuber accordingly fired home put TSG 1-0 up and nearly got a second in the 39th minute.
Gomez fails to beat Baumann
Wolfsburg initially struggled to respond. Yunus Malli did provide some threat in attack but Mario Gomez and the rest of the Wolfsburg forwards could not break down the TSG defence. The constant instructions coming from coach Ismael also did not help as VfL failed to create any clear-cut opportunities before half-time.
That changed right from the restart and it was the lively substitute Didavi who particularly made an impact. The midfielder headed over the bar in the 47th minute but then found Gomez brilliantly. However the unmarked Germany international still could not find the target.
Substitute Didavi hits the winner
The 1899 keeper could then do nothing about the resulting corner. Arnold hammered home from 20 metres out after a poor clearance to get the home side back on level terms. The goalscorer then tested Baumann once again just a couple of minutes later with a long-range effort.
Yet Hoffenheim continued to look dangerous and Wolfsburg keeper Diego Benaglio had to be at his best to keep out Demirbay’s strike. Substitute Jakub Blaszczykowski cleared an Adam Szalai shot off the line before Didavi tapped in after a corner to bag the winner.
