VfL Wolfsburg scored a clear win against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga and is now close to the European Cup places. Gladbach appeared desolate at times.
In the duel between two table neighbors in front of 20,500 fans in the arena, Jonas Wind gave Wolfsburg the lead in the third minute with a penalty kick in a clear 5-1 win, Joakim Maehle (60th), Maximilian Arnold (75th) and Lukas Nmecha (84./87.) improved in the second half. Shio Fukuda (89th) could only shorten the score. For Lower Saxony it was the second win of the new year after the 1-0 win at TSG Hoffenheim.
Thanks to the success, coach Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team temporarily improved to sixth place with 27 points. The Gladbachers under coach Gerado Seoane remain eleventh with 24 points and suffered their second defeat in 2025 after the 0-1 defeat against Bayern Munich.
The coach from Switzerland was served accordingly afterwards. “We didn’t manage to bring the performance from the first hour to the pitch for 90 minutes. We made too many mistakes in the last half hour”said Seone at the sports show microphone.
“We had to suffer a bit against a very strong opponent. They did very well in the first half.”said Wolfsburg coach Hasenhüttel at the Sportschau microphone: “But you just have to stick with it, and we stuck with it. And everything was much better in the second half.”
Penalty kick shortly after kick-off
Only 79 seconds had been played when referee Florian Badstübner pointed to the penalty spot. Julian Weigl caught Bence Dardai in the penalty area, Jonas Wind converted the penalty to make it 1-0 for Wolfsburg.
Gladbach, who were briefly without striker Tim Kleindienst (gastrointestinal problems) and again Franck Honorat, were shocked and subsequently unsettled. The result was quick ball losses and major problems in building up the game. A little later the “Foals” almost conceded the 0-2, but after a nice combination Wind put the ball just past the goal.
Cvancara misses the equalizer
But then suddenly Borussia had a huge chance to equalize. After a nice pass from Robin Hack and a mistake from Denis Vavro, Tomas Cvancara suddenly appeared free in front of the Wolfsburg goal, but couldn’t get past goalkeeper Kamil Grabara with his lob.
As a result, Gladbach got better and better into the game. Almost everything took place in the “Wolves” half. Almost equalized again in the 25th minute, but Grabara took a long shot from Hack from the edge of the penalty area and maneuvered the ball around the post.
A little later, the Pole in the Wolfsburg goal won the duel with Hack again after he shot straight after a lob from Kevin Stöger. Wolfsburg’s relief attacks were rare at this stage of the game. Nevertheless, the hosts took the 1-0 lead into the break, which was rather flattering.
Wolfsburg were clearly better in the second half
But it was Wolfsburg who came out of the locker room better. In an early period of pressure, they were unlucky as Mohamed Amoura’s shot hit the post. A little later, Yannick Gerhardt ran freely towards the goal, but did so slowly that Nico Elvedi was able to poke the ball away.
But it happened in the 60th minute. Joakim Maehle was allowed to walk through the Gladbach defense at will, then played the ball to Wind, who put the leather back on him with a heel. Maehle fired flat and it was 2-0.
Gladbach then tried hard to get close. However, as in the entire game, there was simply a lack of penetration at the front. With the lead behind them, Wolfsburg defended compactly and cleverly.
Nmecha with a double pack
And they followed up. In the 75th minute, Arnold appeared on the left side of the penalty area after a pass from Maehle and hit the right corner from an acute angle – the decision. After that, Gladbach fell apart and no longer had any access. The further goals by Nmecha inevitably fell in the end, Fukuda could only reduce the score to 1:5.
Gladbach in Leverkusen, Wolfsburg in Munich
Borussia Mönchengladbach will play in the top game at champions Bayer Leverkusen on the next matchday on Saturday (6.30 p.m.). Wolfsburg is previously in demand at record champions Bayern Munich (3:30 p.m.).