An inspirational performance from Kevin de Bruyne helped VfL Wolfsburg beat Inter Milan 3-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League last 16 tie in Germany. The result means the Wolves have a great chance of progressing to the next round.
The only Bundesliga representative left in the competition got off to a catastrophic start in front of 25,374 spectators; Rodrigo Palacio scored for Inter after just five minutes. Naldo’s header (28’) and a brace from Kevin de Bruyne (63’ & 76’) turned the game around.
The return leg takes place in the Giuseppe Meazza stadium next Thursday. Wolfsburg know that even a defeat could see them reach the quarter finals of a European competition for the first time in five years. Goalscorer Naldo will be absent next week, having picked up a further yellow card in the game, meaning he has reached the threshold, which results in a one game ban.
Inter without Podolski, Schürrle plays the first half
The Italians, who didn’t include World Champion Lukas Podolski in their squad, started strongly and deserved to take the lead early on. André Schürrle lost out in a tackle and the ball eventually found Palacio, who fired home.
Wolfsburg reacted well and started to create chances, with Daniel Caligiuri causing trouble for the visiting defence. Shortly before the half hour mark Naldo headed home to level the scores on the night.
Wolfsburg defended with a high line and forced the visitors into mistakes. Naldo’s header from a de Bruyne corner was certainly well deserved, even though former Bayern star Xherdan Shaqiri was a thorn in the Wolves’ defence.
Schürrle was replaced by Christian Träsch at the interval. Wolfsburg increased the pressure and started to create more chances.
Inter could have taken the lead early in the half but Palacio missed a huge chance. They were left to rue this opportunity, as de Bruyne made it 2-1 just minutes later after good work Vieirinha. The Belgian then got his second with 14 minutes left on the clock with a direct free kick. He could have scored a hat trick in injury time but the game ended 3-1 to the hosts.
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An inspirational performance from Kevin de Bruyne helped VfL Wolfsburg beat Inter Milan 3-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League last 16 tie in Germany. The result means the Wolves have a great chance of progressing to the next round.
The only Bundesliga representative left in the competition got off to a catastrophic start in front of 25,374 spectators; Rodrigo Palacio scored for Inter after just five minutes. Naldo’s header (28’) and a brace from Kevin de Bruyne (63’ & 76’) turned the game around.
The return leg takes place in the Giuseppe Meazza stadium next Thursday. Wolfsburg know that even a defeat could see them reach the quarter finals of a European competition for the first time in five years. Goalscorer Naldo will be absent next week, having picked up a further yellow card in the game, meaning he has reached the threshold, which results in a one game ban.
Inter without Podolski, Schürrle plays the first half
The Italians, who didn’t include World Champion Lukas Podolski in their squad, started strongly and deserved to take the lead early on. André Schürrle lost out in a tackle and the ball eventually found Palacio, who fired home.
Wolfsburg reacted well and started to create chances, with Daniel Caligiuri causing trouble for the visiting defence. Shortly before the half hour mark Naldo headed home to level the scores on the night.
Wolfsburg defended with a high line and forced the visitors into mistakes. Naldo’s header from a de Bruyne corner was certainly well deserved, even though former Bayern star Xherdan Shaqiri was a thorn in the Wolves’ defence.
Schürrle was replaced by Christian Träsch at the interval. Wolfsburg increased the pressure and started to create more chances.
Inter could have taken the lead early in the half but Palacio missed a huge chance. They were left to rue this opportunity, as de Bruyne made it 2-1 just minutes later after good work Vieirinha. The Belgian then got his second with 14 minutes left on the clock with a direct free kick. He could have scored a hat trick in injury time but the game ended 3-1 to the hosts.
