On 8 December, VfL Wolfsburg must win against OSC Lille if they want to spend the winter in the Champions League Now, of all times, goal scorer Lukas Nmecha is suspended – because he grumbled too vehemently.
The evening in Seville could have been so much different for Lukas Nmecha if his long-range shot in the 23rd minute, which keeper Bono still touched with his hand, had landed in the goal and not on the crossbar. It was Wolfsburg’s first (and last) chance in this match, the 1:1 equaliser could have turned the whole thing around. But in the end, the VfL striker was the great among many Wolfsburg losers in Spain.
In the last official minute of the game, referee Cüneyt Cakir called a handball on Nmecha, who complained so strongly that he received a yellow card – and is now suspended for the group final against OSC Lille on 8 December. A lack of restraint by the goal-scorer, who had scored in every game under coach Florian Kohfeldt so far, but now did his team a disservice. “I can understand the emotion,” said Kohfeldt, who had also complained to the referee. “But Lukas must not allow himself to be misled. Accordingly, it was an unnecessary yellow card. “
Now that wasn’t a good night, I’ll give him the same hug.
Which could hurt the VfL. For Nmecha has been a goal-scoring machine of late, stepping out of the shadow of Wout Weghorst, on whose shoulders much of the heavy burden of goal-scoring will now rest against Lille.
Learn from mistakes like this one in Sevilla
Nmecha has been the talk of the town lately, Kohfeldt says of the new international and now comes to his defence. “Nobody is going to rip Lukas’ head off. It wasn’t a good evening, but I’ll give him the same hug. After all, we’re not talking about a 28-year-old seasoned top striker here.” But a 22-year-old who, according to his coach’s advice, has to learn from mistakes like the one in Seville “He’s off once “, says Kohfeldt, but: “It shouldn’t happen to him a second time. “