The spell was broken in the 44th minute. Kilian Fischer was able to celebrate a nice goal, but overall the 24-year-old’s joy was limited in view of the result.
Despite his frustration at not turning the game around against RB Leipzig despite trailing 3-0, Kilian Fischer also had a brief moment to savour. In the catacombs of the Volkswagen Arena, he watched his goal that made the final score 1:3 again on one of the screens after the final whistle – after all, it was the 24-year-old’s first goal in his 44th Bundesliga game.
And he did it with his left foot, his “second strongest” foot. “I’ve been practicing that a lot in the last few weeks. Everyone knows that I’m a strong right-footer. So you tend to walk along the line.”
That’s why Fischer practiced the Arjen Robben-like swerve to the left. “It makes me a bit more versatile when I have the option to cut inside.” He has practiced the move and the shot into the far corner a lot in training.
“You don’t need much. One goalkeeper is enough, sometimes none at all. Maybe an assistant coach.” This is usually Rainer Widmayer, who sets up a few cones for him. ‘Ten, 15 finishes after the sessions, for several weeks now,’ Fischer says, going over the process again. Now for the first time with success in the Bundesliga.
Fischer’s goal after 57 minutes signaled the start of Wolfsburg’s comeback. Andreas Skov Olsen scored the second goal to make it 3-2, but then the frustration of another defeat and a goal debut without points was too much to bear.
“A loss is a loss,“ said Fischer, ‘on the other hand, you can take a bit of hope from this second half because there was a lot of good stuff in it. I also hope that this knot has burst a bit, also in terms of scoring goals.’
Maybe after a few lean weeks and five games without a win, there will be a turnaround for Wolfsburg after all, Fischer hopes. “I think we played much more flexibly in the second half in particular, had more confidence in ourselves, were much more present in the box.”
On the other hand, you are once again left with a game lost at home – for the sixth time this season. Only the four bottom-of-the-league teams, St. Pauli, Bochum, Kiel and Heidenheim, have fared even worse at home so far.
This time against Leipzig, falling behind 2-0 after making quick mistakes in the build-up didn’t exactly help the team get into the game. “We got off to a really bad start, of course,” admits the right-back, ‘we made too many mistakes. But it’s also crazy: we’re always punished immediately. This time it was three shots from 20, 25 meters that went perfectly into the corner.’
Leipzig quality and lack of luck
Of course it was also a quality of Leipzig to score in this way. “In return, we have a post and a crossbar hit. Sometimes it’s the little things that decide between victory and defeat. Currently, we always come off worst, but you can also work for luck.”
But it will probably be very close to reaching the actual goal, a qualification for the European Cup. Goal debutant Fischer as a realist: “If you look at the last few weeks in particular, that’s not what we want – in terms of results, but also mostly in terms of the way we play. We have to be that tough. But let’s finish the season properly now. Then we can talk about what was good and what was bad.”
There are still five games to go. ‘There’s no point in picking us apart with five matchdays to go. Even if we probably miss our targets again in the end, it does make a difference to you whether you finish twelfth or eighth.’
