Kane misses a penalty
©IMAGO
VfL Wolfsburg put in a good performance against FC Bayern on matchday 33 and narrowly missed out on winning a point. In the season finale at FC St. Pauli in the fight for the relegation place, the game that was only lost 0-1 could benefit the Wolves.
Lower Saxony is level on points with Hamburg, but with a better goal difference, so even a draw would be enough for VfL, provided 1. FC Heidenheim doesn’t come close on Sunday in Cologne. A stroke of genius from Michael Olise was enough for Bayern on Saturday evening, when Wolfsburg competed with a new (old) coat of arms on their chest. Harry Kane had previously missed a penalty for the first time in the Bundesliga. The defeats of St. Pauli and Wolfsburg mean that Werder Bremen and 1. FC Köln will stay in the league.
In front of 28,917 spectators in the sold-out Volkswagen Arena, VfL Wolfsburg showed its best performance of the season for a long time. But it wasn’t enough for a coup against the record champion. Michael Olise (56th minute) scored the winning goal for the Munich team, who, after the premier class exit against Paris Saint-Germain, now have their sights set on the double of the championship and the DFB Cup victory.
As expected, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany made a lot of changes to his team after the bitter Champions League defeat against Paris, but decided against a total rotation. There were still numerous stars in the record champions’ starting line-up in Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise and Harry Kane.
At VfL Wolfsburg, the absence of Mohammed Amoura was noticeable. The offensive player was left out of the squad for the second time this season for disciplinary reasons. Both Algerian striker and midfielder Kevin Paredes were missing from the squad due to an incident during training.
“There are no two opinions in situations like this where we are. The discipline has to be there and it wasn’t there in that one moment in training,” said Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking on Sky. “Then we have to live with the consequences. The other players will absorb it.”
Lots of chances for Wolfsburg, Kane misses a penalty
Actually a sure goal for Bayern, as the Brit had never missed a penalty in the Bundesliga. But this time it was time. Kane slipped slightly on his 25th Bundesliga penalty and shot over the Wolfsburg goal.
After the break, Bayern appeared much more dominant. Wolfsburg retreated a long way and hardly managed to relieve the pressure. It only took ten minutes before the German champions took the lead. Olise scored in his inimitable style with a fantastic shot into the top corner.
The Munich team then controlled the action and had several opportunities to make it 2-0 through Kane (61′), Musiala (64′) and Olise (72′). Instead, VfL could have even scored a point when Mattias Svanberg hit the post (89′). For Wolfsburg, it’s now a week’s time to avoid relegation from the First League for the first time.
