Status: 25.11.2023, 17:43 PM
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Wolfsburg's Jonas Wind (left) plays against Leipzig's Amadou Haidara. © Swen Pförtner/dpa
VfL Wolfsburg and RB Leipzig will play each other twice in just 26 days. And for the second time, the struggling outsider wins.
Wolfsburg - RB Leipzig lost to struggling VfL Wolfsburg for the second time in four weeks. 25 days after being eliminated from the DFB Cup, Marco Rose's team also lost 1-2 (0-1) at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday and thus fell out of the Champions League places in the Bundesliga again.
In front of 25,350 spectators, VfL once again took an early lead: Jonas Wind scored in the 9th minute to make it 1-0. But just 14 minutes after Yussuf Poulsen's deserved equaliser in the 52nd minute, Brazilian Rogerio scored in the 66th minute to make it 2-1 for Wolfsburg. For the Volkswagen club, this ended a negative run of five Bundesliga games without a win.
Coach Niko Kovac always answers the most exciting question at VfL in recent weeks before kick-off: Who is playing, or who is not playing? The former Bayern coach has been criticised for the constant change of tactics and personnel in Wolfsburg.
This time, Maximilian Arnold had to come off again after his place on the bench against Werder Bremen (2-2) and the return to the starting eleven in Mönchengladbach (0-4). The 29-year-old is particularly critical of Kovac's rotations and the treatment of the club's captain, homegrown player and Bundesliga record player is also a special political issue in Wolfsburg.
The coach tried to brush this topic off the table before the game ("We don't roll the dice"). But the displeasure of many fans and the dissonance with some players can no longer be overlooked.
After all, Wolfsburg showed a very committed and sometimes passionate performance against Leipzig. They threw themselves into every shot on goal and made tackles with a lot of physical effort. After 20 minutes, however, that alone hardly helped. From then on, Leipzig's advantages in terms of pace, technique and playing equipment were obvious.
Christoph Baumgartner (20th), Poulsen (20th), the almost unstoppable Lois Openda (27th) and Benjamin Henrichs (39th) missed good chances to make it 1-1 before the break. And after the equaliser, Openda (56th/60th) and Poulsen (60th) created even more chances. The visitors should have been leading in this one-sided game long ago when they suddenly found themselves trailing again.
After going 1-2 down, it was harder for them than after conceding the first goal. Leipzig's attacks were no longer so compelling in the last 20 minutes. The best chance to make it 2-2 was again missed by Openda (79').
The €38m purchase from Belgium was the most eye-catching player of the game in every respect. Because of his pace, his chances - and because of a scene in the 31st minute. After a challenge with Wolfsburg's Sebastiaan Bornauw, the referee initially decided on a penalty for VfL. However, after reviewing the video images, he took it back and showed Openda the yellow card for a swallow. This action was in keeping with RB Leipzig's entire afternoon. Dpa