AUDIO: VfL Wolfsburg happy with a deserved victory (1 min)
As of: October 16, 2025 9:26 a.m
The VfL Wolfsburg footballers celebrated their second victory on the second matchday of the Champions League. At Norwegian champions and cup winners Valerenga IF it was enough to make it 2-1 (0-0) thanks to a last-minute goal from Janina Minge.
For a long time it didn’t look as if the “Wolfs” would be able to shake off the frustration from the 1:3 defeat in the Bundesliga against FC Bayern. Despite the overwhelming superiority, the score in Oslo was 1-1 until added time. But then Minge showed strong nerves with the last shot of the game and scored with a hand penalty to win – in the eighth minute of stoppage time! Sara Hörte had previously equalized Wolfsburg’s opening goal for Valerenga by Lineth Beerensteyn.
“In the end it doesn’t matter how you win.”
VfL winning goalscorer Janina Minge
Lerch: “The team deserves it”
After the 4-0 win against Paris Saint-Germain, coach Stephan Lerch’s team now has six points in the premier class. Of course, the victory came about “luckily” in terms of timing, said the coach, but “the team deserved it in the second half. The way they performed is also great for our learning process. We have to deal with situations like this – it’s even nicer when such victories come out of it.”
The Champions League continues in November – with games in Lyon (11th) and against Manchester United (19th). This Sunday (5:15 p.m., in the NDR Livecenter) the VfL women are back in everyday Bundesliga life – with the difficult away game at fourth-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
Starting eleven debut for Bjelde
VfL coach Lerch had to rebuild his team in two positions. Camilla Küver, who was nominated for the national team for the first time, is still suffering from the effects of a calf injury from the Bundesliga game and was therefore not in the squad at all. Svenja Huth was also missing due to an infection. The duo was replaced by central defender Caitlin Dijkstra and right winger Thea Bjelde – the latter celebrated her VfL Women’s starting XI debut against her former club.
Hardly any escape for the “she-wolves”
On the artificial turf in the Intility Arena, the hosts recorded their first shot on goal through Mawa Sesay (2nd) and then attacked early on, so that the Wolfsburg women had difficulty getting dangerously in front of the opponent’s goal. Although VfL had significantly more possession of the ball, they had to repeatedly play around the back because Valerenga’s defense was compact and didn’t reveal any gaps.
It wasn’t until the 18th minute that the guests came close for the first time: Alexandra Popp’s shot was blocked. Shortly afterwards, Beerensteyn couldn’t get the ball under control in the six-meter area despite an artistic jump (23′). But as the game went on, the action on the pitch shifted to the hosts’ half. Nevertheless, it took until the final minute of the first half before captain Tove Enblom was really challenged: she saved her team from falling behind by defending against Beerensteyn.
Hörte counters Beerensteyn’s opening goal
Immediately after the restart, Bjelde had a chance to make it 1-0 for Wolfsburg, but she didn’t hit the ball properly (46′). Popp (just over, 52′) and Cora Zicaj (just over, 53′) did a little better shortly afterwards. But VfL’s opening goal was only postponed: Saedis Run Heidarsdottir played a catastrophic bad pass right into Beerensteyn’s legs, the Dutchwoman moved into the penalty area and, despite several opponents, finished with her left to make it 1-0 (57th).
The completely deserved tour of the guests only lasted a few minutes. After a corner it became confusing in the Wolfsburg penalty area, Stina Johannes parried against Eline Hegg, but Hörte then pushed the ball over the line at the far post (60th).
VfL with an abundance of chances, but with luck on the penalty spot
But the VfL women continued to play tirelessly forward. Zicai’s shot hit the crossbar (67′), Minge missed the “Wolf’s” next chance with his head (73′). On top of that, Arna Eiriksdottir almost headed the ball into his own goal – but the ball only landed on the crossbar (77th). There was hardly any relief for Valerenga, VfL restricted the Norwegians in their half and pushed for the lead again.
But danger also lurked behind. During one of the hosts’ rare counterattacks, VfL keeper Johannes had to stretch to prevent the score being 2-1 (87′). Then things got very bitter for Valerenga: in stoppage time, the ball jumped into Naina Inauen’s hand, and after checking by the VAR, referee Marta Huerta de Aza awarded a hand penalty. Minge stayed cool and scored the 2-1 winner (90+8). Immediately afterwards it was over. A happy but also deserved victory for VfL.
