For VfL Wolfsburg, the Champions League season – and international business in general – came to an end on Wednesday with a 3-1 defeat to OSC Lille that marked an overall hard landing for the Lower Saxons’ ambitions.
Florian Kohfeldt wanted to approach Wolfsburg’s final match against the French champions in such a way that “there are no question marks in terms of intensity and aggressiveness”, the VfL coach had told “DAZN” before the game. That was also how he had explained his first eleven against Lille, which included Kevin Mbabu, Yannick Gerhardt or Luca Waldschmidt, but not Ridle Baku, Renato Steffen or Dodi Lukebakio. But in the end, the attempt failed, because it was above all OSC who displayed the qualities Kohfeldt demanded, defending attentively and aggressively – and at the same time playing purposefully forward and also finishing ice-cold.
After the game, Kohfeldt had clear words for his VfL’s performance: “We weren’t at our limit and then it’s just not enough. We have to reproach ourselves for not delivering in a game in which we had to deliver. I also lacked the courage to look for playful solutions in certain moments, to play aggressively against the ball and not have that moment where we wait. I have to say that this was simply not Champions League-ready,” said the coach after the fourth defeat in a row.
Arnold on conceding the first goal – and match luck
Maximilian Arnold was particularly annoyed with the early goal conceded, which had made Wolfsburg’s task much more difficult. “Especially when we conceded the first goal, we were a bit of a faff, maybe we should have blocked their goalkeeper a bit so he didn’t drop it so quickly. And then of course you run after the music,” said the midfielder. “Maybe we could have taken a risk earlier then, but afterwards you are always smarter. After 0:2 and 0:3, the game was over,” the 27-year-old continued.
Arnold also bemoaned a general lack of “match luck “ at this stage of the season – including a number of chances from set pieces in the first half against Lille. “At the moment the feeling we have is that we can never put the ball in under control. That’s something we need to work on. Hopefully it’s good that we have to play again in three days. Our heads have to be up, even if it hurts a lot right now,” concluded the midfielder with regard to the match against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday (6.30 pm). After three games without a win, VfL will then be looking to keep up with the international places for the 2022/23 season.
