Wolfsburg. Premier class coup after the Corona horror: VfL Wolfsburg has conquered fourth place in the Champions League despite the short-term failure of four top performers before the holidays. Coach Oliver Glasner’s team beat VfB Stuttgart 1-0 (0-0) in the last Bundesliga game of the year and pushed past Borussia Dortmund. Despite the shock, the Swabians will start the second phase of the season in early 2021 in a strong seventh place.
“That was very close and not the best football. It was actually a tie game,” said VfL striker Wout Weghorst at Sky: “We weren’t afraid because of the positive tests, but the preparation was disrupted. So one thing was very strong team performance. “
Josip Brekalo scored in the 50th minute with a direct free kick that VfB attacker Silas Wamangituka deflected. The Lower Saxony had to compete without Jerome Rousillon, who tested positive for COVID-19, and Maximilian Arnold, who was trained at Dynamo Dresden, and their contacts Xaver Schlager and Maximilian Philipp. For VfB, who are so strong away from home, it was their first defeat on their opponent’s place on matchday 13.
Before the kick-off at Sky, Glasner spoke of a “relatively turbulent preparation” for the game. The Austrian had known about the new infections since Saturday, and his affected players immediately went to quarantine at home. Young man Tim Siersleben, like his teammates, also had to separate on instructions from the health department.
Glasner could not explain the accumulation of corona cases at VfL. “We have a strict hygiene concept here. We test a lot and the players stick to it very closely,” said the 46-year-old in an interview with Sky. In the past weeks and months the players Kevin Mbabu, Josip Brekalo, Renato Steffen and Marin Pongracic had already tested positive.
Wolfsburg’s Josip Brekalo (r) cheers after his free kick to 1-0 with Renato Steffen. © dpa / Swen gatekeeper
The main question was how the wolves would get along without their central clocks, Arnold and Schlager – all in all quite decent. Wolfsburg, with Josuha Guilavogui and Yannick Gerhardt, who are also experienced in defensive midfield, immediately had their first chance after a corner from Maxence Lacroix’s header (1st). “I see it as an opportunity to show what a cohesive team we are,” Glasner had said shortly before.
The home side put in forward gear, but VfB also took part from the start and it went back and forth at breakneck speed. In the ninth minute of the game, the guests demanded a penalty after a resolute bump from Ridle Baku against Nicolas Gonzalez – but referee Florian Badstübner was not enough. Almost in return, Gerhardt appeared free in front of VfB keeper Gregor Kobel, but he got stuck with his lifter (11th). Shortly before a goal from Wolfsburg’s Gerhardt was not recognized because of an alleged foul (31st), Wamangituka failed free in front of Koen Casteels (24th).
In the second half, the hosts controlled what was happening first after the quick hit and staggered down to take away the space for the speed game from VfB. However, the Stuttgart offensive remained creative and should have equalized, but substitute Roberto Massimo did not hit the free goal from six meters (70th). VfB braced themselves against the defeat until the end, but they also lacked some luck.
Hertha coach Labbadia served after bankruptcy in Freiburg
In Freiburg, Bruno Labbadia had previously trudged across the lawn in his light brown coat, fully served. After the next bleak performance of “Big City Club” Hertha BSC at the end of a disappointing year 2020, the item of clothing that he had chosen to be a lucky charm was also worn out. “Today we just showed a face that didn’t work at all. One or the other thinks that he can do his thing on his own,” complained Labbadia after the clear 1: 4 (0: 1) at SC Freiburg.
With 13 points from 13 games, the Berliners are stuck in the table cellar during the short winter break of the Bundesliga. “I’m less annoyed where we are right now. I’m more annoyed where we could have been,” added the Berlin coach. The dream destination Europe is very far away. And in the new year the big crisis meeting with the bottom of the table, FC Schalke 04, is waiting for us on January 2nd. “We have to come back better after the winter break. We have an important game ahead of us. We have to analyze the mistakes and finally score,” said Herthas Maximilian Mittelstädt on Sky TV.
Labbadia was especially annoyed in the first half. There you saw “how not to do it. So 20 good minutes after the break were not enough to kidnap a point from the Black Forest Stadium. Freiburg, on the other hand, increased their gap to them with the fifth game in a row without defeat Relegation region.
Hertha coach Bruno Labbadia took one player to his chest after the 1: 4 in Breisgau. © dpa / Philipp von Ditfurth
“I’m incredibly happy and extremely happy that we have 17 points. It’s sometimes crazy in football. It feels like we’ve made more points in one week than we did in three months,” said Freiburg coach Christian Streich and Vincenzo Grifo added: ” We wanted to finish 2020 in the same way. Finishing the English Week with nine points is also not normal. ”
It was also the Italian who headed the hosts ahead. Shortly after the break, Dodi Lukebakio (52nd) managed to equalize. Then Hertha pressed, but missed the best opportunities through Niklas Stark (55th), Jordan Torunarigha (56th) and Krzysztof Piatek (57th) – and was punished for it. Ermedin Demirovic (59th) shocked the Berliners with his first Bundesliga goal to make it 2-1, defender Manuel Gulde (67th) headed it after a corner. The final point was set by Nils Petersen with a penalty (90 + 3).
What particularly annoyed Labbadia was the anemic performance of some of its players. Matheus Cunha was symbolic of the weak performance in the first round: the Brazilian was just playing against the ball as if he wasn’t in the mood. Labbadia roared at the Brazilian international several times and asked for a different body language. But nothing changed after that either. Logically, Labbadia took him out at halftime.
“He pulls himself down, doesn’t perform well, pulls the team down. It’s very rare that I do something like that, but I’ll be honest with you: I’m totally angry,” criticized Labbadia. The 21-year-old had also initiated the Freiburg leadership after he had carelessly lost a duel against Jonathan Schmid in midfield.
Further articles
–
–
–
–
Hertha seamlessly continued their sobering appearance against Mainz (0-0), where, like the opponent, they had not fired a single shot on goal. It only got better when Cunha was no longer on the pitch. During the break, Labbadia had replaced him with Dilrosun, which quickly had an effect. After a few minutes, the winger prevailed in the penalty area and crossed to Lukebakio, who shot into goal from close range. Then Hertha pressed, but Freiburg came back out of nowhere and celebrated a clear victory in the end. (sid, dpa)
The professionals of SC Freiburg cheer after a goal. © dpa / Philipp von Ditfurth
–
