All square between Wolfsburg and Frankfurt
Wolfsburg - Eintracht Frankfurt equalised four minutes from time to leave with a point after a 2-2 draw at VfL Wolfsburg.
Quiet start
A Naldo strike and a Sebastian Jung had the game level going into the final few minutes, before the Wolves thought they had won through a Maximilian Arnold strike. Vaclav Kadlec notched his first of the season to leave the Eagles still unbeaten, however, with Junior Malanda missing another presentable opportunity late on.
In contrast to their meeting at the back end of last season, this game was rather less pulsating, with neither team showing much attacking ambition in the opening stages.
Following an uneventful quarter of an hour, Naldo opened the scoring with a rasping free-kick that eluded Kevin Trapp and found the corner from a similar distance to his long-range pile-driver against the Eagles last season. Thomas Schaaf’s men were not behind for long, though, as Inui’s speculative free-kick found the bottom corner via Jung's midriff.
Grün’s blushes spared
The visitors then passed up a glorious chance to steal a half-time lead, as Robin Knoche and Luiz Gustavo cleared off the line from Lucas Piazon and Nelson Valdez respectively, following a calamitous pass from home keeper Max Grün.
After a thrilling end to the first half, caginess then returned to both sets of players. Defences were back on top and chances dried up momentarily, although Aleksandar Ignjovski and Arnold had powerful shots beaten away.
Eye of a needle
The hosts, still pointless after the first weekend’s action, upped the ante in search of a winner and threw on former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, but it was their creative midfield duo that came up trumps, as Kevin De Bruyne’s exquisite pass found Arnold, who drilled unerringly through a crowd of bodies into the corner.
Dieter Hecking’s side had won this fixture by a 2-1 scoreline last term and it looked as though lightning would strike twice. Schaaf had an ace up his sleeve in Kadlec, however, and the Czech international popped up with four minutes to play to ensure the points were shared, although they were grateful to Malanda, who failed to convert from three yards out for the second game in a row.
Line-ups and statistics
Bernie Reeves
