Bittencourt scores twice as Hannover beat Wolfsburg
Hannover - Hannover 96 registered their first away win of the current campaign thanks to a 3-1 victory at Lower Saxony rivals VfL Wolfsburg.
Bittencourt brace
Having enjoyed their best-ever first half of a season before the winter break, Wolfsburg started confidently, continuously posing a threat as they created all the early pressure. Diego was at the heart of their most promising moments on Kevin De Bruyne's VfL debut, and the Brazilian playmaker came close to breaking the deadlock, forcing Ron-Robert Zieler to produce a save at full-stretch.
Hannover, looking to get the better of their hosts on the break, caught them cold shortly before the half-hour mark, however, when Mame Diouf's flick-on freed Artjoms Rudnevs, who coolly clipped the ball beyond Diego Benaglio to open his account in his first appearance for the club since joining from Hamburger SV in the winter. Wolfsburg didn't take long to respond though, Ivica Olic slotting in from close range after Zieler was unable to hold a powerful effort from Maximilian Arnold.
Shortly after the restart, Szabolcs Huszti gave Wolfsburg an early warning with a beautifully struck free-kick, before Leonardo Bittencourt did better only minutes later, leaving Benaglio no chance from inside the box. With Wolfsburg throwing bodies forward in search for an equaliser, there was space aplenty for Hannover to exploit. They duly accepted the invitation, extending their lead 18 minutes from time as Bittencourt bagged his brace by smashing a left-footed effort into the back of the net from a tight angle to put the game to bed.
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