Away-day joy at last for Wolfsburg
Augsburg - VfL Wolfsburg came from behind to pick up their first points on the road this season, moving above hosts FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga standings courtesy of a 2-1 win.
Dominant Augsburg
Tobias Werner gave the hosts a flying start, but after squandering a host of chances to increase their lead in a dominant opening, Maximilian Arnold's long-range effort changed the complex of the game before Luiz Gustavo added a second to hand the Wolves all three points.
Heeding coach Markus Weinzierl’s call to put the points in the bank in their home games, Augsburg looked to make capital out of being on familiar soil as Diego Benaglio faced an early storm in the Wolfsburg goal. The Swiss No1 had to be at his very best to deny Halil Altintop with his outstretched left arm after the Augsburg forward took Werner’s cross from the left in his stride in front of goal.
Altintop was involved again as Augsburg took the lead, the ball ricocheting around the Wolfsburg penalty area like a pinball before Werner fired the second rebound in after both the Turkish forward and Matthias Ostrzolek had been denied by Benaglio. The Augsburg onslaught continued with Werner tapping the ball into Benaglio’s hands from close range when a bit more power would inevitably have seen the home side’s lead doubled.
Smiles turn to frowns
There were roars of laughter from the home fans as Diego sent a free-kick into the stands, and they could afford to show some irony with their team looking in total control. Werner went within inches of reaching Hahn’s low cross, while Altintop shot wide with so several gaping holes opening up in a sieve-like Wolfsburg rearguard. It was all looking a little too easy for Augsburg, who were made to pay for not adding a third when Arnold took aim from 25 yards, and found the bottom right-hand corner with an accurate effort.
From being in control, Augsburg found themselves chasing the game when Luiz Gustavo was given acres of room six yards out to head in Ricardo Rodriguez’s free-kick, completing the turnaround. Another Rodriguez free-kick was pushed away by Alexander Manninger early in the second half as the visitors sought to finish off their hosts, the way they should have been finished off themselves in the first half.
Comfortable Wolfsburg
It was Wolfsburg’s turn to take control of the game, playing down the clock without running any risks at the back against a faltering Augsburg attack, which managed to muster up just one shot on goal after the break. The home fans shared their players’ frustrations as the enthusiastic side they saw in the first half an hour suffered.
The Bavarians' could have fallen further behind had Manninger not shown excellent reactions to turn Diego’s angled effort wide as the game entered its final ten minutes with more roars coming from the Wolves than the hosts' front line, who meekly allowed Wolfsburg to pick up their first away win of the season.
Line-ups and statistics
Luiz Gustavo talks about his ambitions on the official Bundesliga YouTube channel:
