HSV is assured of staying in the league
©IMAGO
By winning a point against Europa League semi-finalists SC Freiburg, VfL Wolfsburg is fueling its hopes in the Bundesliga relegation battle. Thanks to the 1-1 (0-0), Lower Saxony took advantage of FC St. Pauli’s next defeat and moved past their rivals into relegation place on matchday 32. The draw was enough for the Kiezkicker’s city rivals, HSV, to securely stay in the league.
In a long, tough and unattractive game, two defenders scored after the break. Konstantinos Koulierakis’ lead for Wolfsburg (55th minute) was canceled out by Philipp Lienhart (75th). However, it is only thanks to the better goal difference that Wolfsburg is ahead of FC St. Pauli ahead of the difficult home game against the old and new German champions FC Bayern Munich. Everything boils down to a showdown in a direct duel between the relegation rivals for the relegation place at the season finale.
The draw was enough for Freiburg to move back up to seventh place in the Bundesliga, which would secure them international competition for the coming season. However, the performance was not enough for the hoped-for victory before the next European Cup highlight. On Thursday, the Baden team want to make up for the 1:2 loss from the first leg in Braga and reach the final.
VfL coach Dieter Hecking, who was coaching in the Bundesliga for the 450th time, naturally took note of St. Pauli’s 2-1 defeat in the afternoon against 1. FSV Mainz 05. “Now it’s our turn. We just have to see that we need a very good performance here in order to take something away,” said the 61-year-old on “DAZN” before kick-off.
His team tried to put the sports club under pressure early on. And the pressing almost paid off in the early stages. After winning the ball, captain Christian Eriksen only slammed the ball against the left post, much to Hecking’s chagrin. Bad luck for VfL. It remained the most dangerous scene for a long time.
A competitive game developed – with numerous inaccuracies on both sides and no brilliant moments of play. Goal scenes remained largely in short supply. The sports club had significantly more ball possession in the first half with 65 percent, but had no ideas to convert this superiority into goals against the compact Wolfsburg defense.
After halftime, Wolfsburg came out of the locker room with more vigor and quickly rewarded themselves for their committed performance. After a corner from Eriksen from the right side hit the back post, Greek defender Koulierakis headed it in. Hecking pushed his team on – but it wasn’t enough for the much-needed victory. After a throw-in, Johan Manzambi’s cross found substitute Freiburg defender Lienhart, who headed the ball in unstoppable. In the final phase the hosts pushed for victory – in vain.
