The VfL Wolfsburg has lost for the first time under new coach Florian Kohfeldt On Matchday 5 of the Champions League the Lower Saxons disappointed all along the line against dominant Andalusians – now they face a real final on the last matchday.
Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui brought on four fresh players after the last-minute 2-2 draw with Deportivo Alaves: Ex-Bremer Augustinsson, Oliver, Rafa Mir (all bench) and Idrissi rotated out of the team, Acuna, ex-Schalker Raktitic, Munir and Alejandro Gomez started instead.
Wölfe coach Florian Kohfeldt had to contend with injury worries compared to the 2:2 against Bielefeld, including captain Casteels (Corona infection) and Steffen (blow to calf) dropping out, with Paulo Otavio fit just in time for a place on the bench. In addition, Wolfsburg’s new coach dispensed with Bornauw and Mbabu (both bench). Keeper Pervan (CL debut), Guilavogui, Lacroix, Vranckx and Rousillon moved into the starting line-up.
Sevilla better in the game – Jordan heads the lead
VfL certainly had a lot of anger in their belly after the joke penalty in the first leg, which brought the score to 1-1 late on for Sevilla – but it wasn’t visible at any point in the first full stop. Instead, it was the Andalusians who set the tone without really doing too much themselves. This time, Wolfsburg were back in a four-man defence, with Guilavogui intercepting the balls in front of the defence. Especially “Standards have to be our advantage today “, Kohfeldt had said on “AmazonPrime” shortly before the game, but it was mainly the hosts who had them in the early stages.
And Sevilla took advantage of one of them: following a corner, Rakitic was given too much space on the right and found Jordan, who was able to head in from close range between Lacroix and Baku (12th). The early deficit, however, only provided a limited wake-up call for Wolfsburg, who had not yet lost a game under Kohfeldt. A single successful attack nevertheless created a lot of danger when Weghorst showed a good eye and Nmecha confidently took a shot, but the ball only bounced off the crossbar via Bono (23rd).
In the following, both teams were often too hectic and unfocused in their offensive efforts, Sevilla had more possession in the first half but did not know what to do with it towards the end.
Rafa Mir makes everything clear – Nmecha suspended
Entering the second period, things didn’t really get any better for VfL. Technical shortcomings nipped attacks in the bud early on and put the defence in a real fix, as with Brooks’ misplaced pass (61st). Kohfeldt therefore had to do something, bringing on Philipp for Gerhardt (66th) and after this change also fizzled out quite quickly Mbabu, Paulo Otavio and Lukebakio
But until deep into the final phase, chances on both sides remained scarce, even Kohfeldt’s last round Ginczek fizzled out (88.), Wolfsburg remained without a really dangerous finish in half two. To make matters worse, Lukas Nmecha saw his third yellow card in the final minute for bitching and will now miss the “final” against Lille. In the seventh minute of injury time, Joker Rafa Mir used a counterattack to make it 2:0.
On 8 December, the Wolves will face the French side, who currently lead the group with eight points, without Nmecha. The VfL must win in order to be level on points and to be able to move past them in the direct comparison (first leg 0:0) and enter the last 16 of the Champions League.
