Borussia Mönchengladbach claimed their first away win of the season. The decisive factor in the 3-1 win in Wolfsburg was an early double strike – and a brilliantly played Embolo, who opened the scoring with a dream goal.
Without a doubt: It was Embolo’s opening phase. He had already brought out the free-kick before his dream goal with an energetic dribble, and after its chip execution by Hofmann, the Swiss then came up trumps in a big way: Embolo took a misplaced volley from Zakaria with an artistic overhead kick and put the ball perfectly into the net for Gladbach’s early lead (5th minute). And just a few seconds later, Embolo then set the ball up with a great through pass. The beneficiary this time was Hofmann, who slipped the ball past the rushing Casteels and scored into the empty net (7th) – Gladbach’s dream start was perfect
First Flipper, then Waldschmidt: Wolfsburg cuts it short
Wolfsburg, who not only scored two goals but also received two yellow cards in the opening minutes, recovered quickly despite the setbacks but were initially too sloppy in their attacking play. Coach Mark van Bommel had benched Roussillon and goalscorer Steffen after the 1-1 draw against SC Sevilla in the Champions League and brought on Gerhardt and Waldschmidt instead. The inclusion of the latter finally paid off: Baku tunneled Stindl and flicked on goal from the corner of the penalty area, the ball was blocked, flipped across the penalty area and landed at the feet of Waldschmidt, who switched quickly and scored his first Bundesliga goal in the VfL kit (25th).
After that, the game became more and more disjointed, with numerous fouls and fierce duels disrupting the flow of the game. However, Mönchengladbach remained the more determined team, who had started with Beyer instead of Jantschke compared to the 1:0 against Dortmund. The omnipresent Embolo remained a constant source of danger, first initiating an opportunity for Hofmann (37th) and shortly afterwards testing Casteels himself (39th). The Belgian in the VfL goal also made a save against Scally shortly before the break (45.+2).
Lacroix flies off – Stindl misses the decisive goal from the spot
VfL sporting director Marcel Schäfer was very unhappy with the performance of the Lower Saxons in the “Sky” interview at half-time – and his coach reacted. Gerhardt and the injured Bornauw were replaced by Roussillon and Brooks after the break. Nevertheless, Mönchengladbach had the first chance after the restart, Koné forced Casteels to intervene again (51st). Shortly afterwards, Wolfsburg could have or even should have equalised in a fast-paced game, but Lukebakio shot too centrally despite a completely free shot and Sommer saved (54).
From the middle of the second half, Wolfsburg pushed the tempo a little and pushed much higher. However, Wolfsburg lacked determination in the final third, and apart from a shot by Guilavogui after a standardisation (72nd), VfL’s efforts remained harmless.
Instead, the visitors had a great chance to take the lead after Lacroix had felled Embolo, who had broken through in the penalty area. Referee Frank Willenborg decided on a yellow-red for the already cautioned VfL defender and a penalty, which Stindl missed miserably – Casteels even managed to hold on to the weak spot kick (78th).
First Bundesliga goal: Scally puts the lid on it
Wolfsburg stayed in the game, but had to play the final phase with one man less. It could even have been two less, but a red card against Roussillon for an alleged emergency stop was rescinded after VAR intervention (84.). Van Bommel had brought on two more strikers, VfL threw everything forward in the closing minutes, but Sommer parried the two finishes of substitute Ginczek (90.+1) and Waldschmidt (90.+2).
And so it was an 18-year-old who put the final touches on the opposite side: after a kick by Sommer, Scally won a header duel and was able to run towards Casteels due to the completely exposed VfL defence and finish for the 1:3 final score (90.+5) – his first Bundesliga goal.
For Mönchengladbach, it was the first points away from home after three recent away defeats. After the international break, the Foals take on VfB Stuttgart on Saturday at 6.30 pm. Wolfsburg will host Union Berlin three hours earlier.
