The women from Wolfsburg probably imagined their Bundesliga opener differently. They dropped two points against Bremen. But things could have been even worse.
After the lucky point for his women’s soccer team thanks to a phantom goal, coach Tommy Stroot of VfL Wolfsburg was angry. “I deliberately said how important these games are,” said the 35-year-old after the wild 3:3 (1:2) draw at the start of the Bundesliga season against Werder Bremen. That’s why he doesn’t want to make the disappointing tie any smaller than it was. “I’m actually a bit annoyed now, which you don’t often see me like,” he said in the press conference.
The fact that Stroot and his players did not even experience defeat was thanks to the misjudgment of referee Nadine Westerhoff. She had acknowledged the supposed goal by national player Alexandra Popp to make it 3:3 in the 66th minute, although the ball was visibly seen on TV images to land on the goal line and then bounce back into the field of play.
Bremen goalkeeper Livia Peng had previously shot at Popp. The ball then flew from the attacker with a lot of spin towards the Werder goal. The women’s Bundesliga does not have video evidence (VAR) like in the men’s Bundesliga. However, luck was not always on VfL’s side in the game, said Stroot. “When you see the goal that made it 3:3, then of course it was,” he admitted.
The draw was definitely a setback for their own ambitions. VfL Wolfsburg sees itself as a challenger to the German champions and favorites FC Bayern Munich. Now the cup winners are behind from the start. “That’s why it annoys me. Because I know that more could have been achieved,” said Stroot.
