Winning after falling behind
©IMAGO
Paul Simonis has to fear more than ever for his job as head coach of VfL Wolfsburg after a last-minute defeat. The Lower Saxony team lost 1:2 (0:1) at the start of the tenth matchday at SV Werder Bremen in the final phase. For a long time it even looked like a victory for Wolfsburg after Swede Mattias Svanberg (28th) shot the guests into the lead. But Jens Stage (83rd) with his fourth goal of the season and Samuel Mbangula (90th + 4) turned the game around for Bremen, who had been harmless offensively for a long time. It was the third home win in a row.
The game at SV Werder was already considered the final for the 40-year-old Simonis. The Wolfsburg team had traveled to one of their favorite destinations in the Bundesliga with a terrible record of just one win from the last eight games and numerous weak performances. VfL had won four of the last five guest games in Bremen. But another victory on the Weser came to nothing. In front of 40,500 spectators in the sold-out Weserstadion, Bremen avoided their first defeat after four games and are now 15 points, clearly four ahead of VfL (8).
Compared to the lucky draw at Mainz 05, Werder coach Horst Steffen made two offensive changes. For the first time, Keke Topp was allowed to start, and Justin Njinmah also moved into the starting line-up. Victor Boniface and Samuel Mbangula initially sat on the bench. Despite the negative series and the 2-3 defeat against TSG Hoffenheim recently, Steffen’s Dutch VfL colleague Simonis only made one change. He called Moritz Jenz into his starting eleven for Konstantinos Koulierakis.
Mbangula shocks VfL Wolfsburg late
Werder dominated the game from the start and combined impressively several times, at least up to the Wolfsburg penalty area. However, the first and best chance for a long time came from the first corner, when Amos Pieper (5th minute) seriously tested VfL goalkeeper Kamil Grabara. Marco Grüll (17th) narrowly missed the goal with a shot. The guests from Lower Saxony repeatedly fell far behind and rarely made it to the Bremen sixteen. The lead in the 28th minute was all the more surprising when the ball went from Svanberg via Adam Daghim and Sael Kumbedi back to Svanberg, who scored his second goal of the season. The goal gave Wolfsburg a boost. Their attack actions became more compelling. Werder keeper Miro Backhaus defused two shots from VfL captain Maximilian Arnold (38th) and Christian Eriksen (40th). The Bremen team looked in vain for solutions to exploit Wolfsburg’s densely staggered defense.
Werder increased the pressure in the second half. But Wolfsburg’s defense was mostly secure. After 65 minutes, Werder coach Steffen reacted, bringing on Boniface and Mbangula for the disappointing Topp and Njinmah. The hosts’ attack wasn’t any more compelling. A free kick from Senne Lynen (75th) was the most dangerous action. But then Werder struck. First Stage scored, then Mbangula. In stoppage time, he volleyed the ball from a few meters into the VfL goal – and into the heart of Wolfsburg.