Honours even for Wolfsburg and Köln
Mario Gomez made his Wolfsburg bow but failed to find the target as Köln held the Wolves to a goalless draw at the Volkswagen Arena.
How many Official Fantasy Bundesliga points did you earn from this match? Find out here...
Buoyed by winning starts to their respective Bundesliga campaigns, both teams produced an entertaining opening. Despite much of the pre-match hype focusing on Gomez, it was Daniel Didavi who went closest for Die Wölfe in the first half, the 26-year old's shot blocked by Köln defender Dominique Heintz. At the other end, Yuya Osako, Leonardo Bittencourt and Marcel Risse all spurned chances for the Billy Goats, who found Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels in top form, particularly when denying Mergrim Mavraj prior to the break.
Head to the Match Centre for more on this game
The Belgian custodian continued where he left off after the restart, twice saving from Risse before the game settled into a midfield duel that neither side looked like breaking until Bruno Henrique and Julian Draxler looked to liven things up for the hosts toward the end. Josip Brekalo had the chance to be Wolfsburg's hero at the death, but the substitute's volley missed the target, ensuring both teams maintained unbeaten starts to the season.
Want more Bundesliga Action?
Man of the Match
Fresh from winning a starting place between the posts from Diego Benaglio, goalkeeper Casteels continued to demonstrate his worth here, producing several top saves to deny the visitors.
Talking point
Prior to this encounter, FC Bayern München forward Robert Lewandowski said he expected Mario Gomez to net plenty of goals for Wolfsburg. Having failed to register on his bow for Die Wölfe, however, the 31-year-old's wait for his first Bundesliga goal since 4 May 2013 continues.
Download the Official Bundesliga App
Match Stats
- Along with maintaining their unbeaten start to the campaign, both teams have yet to concede a goal. Prior to today's match, Wolfsburg had scored at least once in all eleven previous home meetings with Köln in the Bundesliga.The Billy Goats are now undefeated in seven away games.
Line-ups
Wolfsburg: Casteels - Blaszczykowski, Knoche, Bruma, Rodriguez - Gustavo, Gerhardt (Arnold 63') - Caligiuri (Henrique 62'), Didavi (Brekalo 79'), Draxler - Gomez
Coach: Dieter Hecking
Köln: Müller - Sörensen, Mavraj, Heinz, Hector - Lehmann (Mladenovic 87'), Höger - Risse, Bittencourt - Osako (Jojic 67'), Modeste (Zoller 79')
Coach: Peter Stöger
Head here for all the news on all the fixtures on Matchday 2