“They are all very disappointed”: Wolfsburg missed the Euro League

Athens – By conceding a goal in stoppage time, VfL Wolfsburg missed re-participation in the Europa League. The Bundesliga soccer team lost their third and last qualifying game at AEK Athens despite having a half-time lead with 1: 2 (1: 0).

The Swiss international Admir Mehmedi brought the “Wolves” into the lead with the last action of the first half (45th + 1 minute). But after the break, the Portuguese André Simoes met with a 30-meter shot (64th) and the Iranian Karim Ansarifard just before the final whistle (90th + 4) for the twelve-time Greek champions. Despite the victories against FK Kukesi and Desna Tschernihiw in the first two qualifying rounds, VfL can only watch the draw for the twelve Europa League groups this Friday.

“We are all very disappointed,” said VfL coach Oliver Glasner. “It’s incredibly bitter when you get the 1: 2 with the last action. We really wanted to win the game in regular time and then we were countered. ”

Wolfsburg could have fallen behind early on in this game. But in the 20th minute, substitute goalkeeper Pavao Pervan saved a penalty from AEK captain Petros Mantalos. According to the Portuguese referee Artur Dias, Xaver Schlager had previously fouled the Serbian Nenad Krsticic. However, there is no video evidence that could have verified this questionable decision in the Europa League.

The Austrian Pervan again represented the injured Koen Casteels in Athens. Otherwise, coach Oliver Glasner changed his starting line-up diligently due to the many games in these weeks. Before the last Bundesliga game at SC Freiburg there were eight changes, this time there were six again.

The game suffered from the fact that hosts Athens acted very hesitantly even in their own stadium and VfL hardly knew what to do with their field advantages. The Greeks left their best striker Marko Livaja on the bench, the “Wolves” lacked any penetration in the opposing half. Chances like for Paulo Otavio (8th) or Maximilian Arnold (25th) were very slim.

After the lead, VfL actually had the game under control. In terms of play, the performance was poor and very flawed, but the Bundesliga team looked for the decision instead of just defending its narrow lead. The 1: 1 equalization fell surprisingly, after the 1: 2 the Lower Saxony could no longer react. AEK even lacked the support of its many fans that evening. Since the European association UEFA did not allow any spectators, at least in the qualifying rounds, the Olympic Stadium with its capacity of more than 69,000 seats remained empty.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201001-99-792516 / 5