Wolfsburg scrape past Freiburg
February 10, 2012
Wolfsburg moved temporarily up to eighth place in the league on Friday night, thanks to an uncomfortably tight 3-2 home win over bottom-of-the-table Freiburg. One Wolfsburg goal might have been disallowed for offside, and the decisive second half strike took a wicked deflection en route to goal. The unlucky guests remain deep in the relegation zone, despite a valiant attempt to confound the form book.
Wolfsburgwent into the match having picked up all but four of their 24 league points at the Volkswagen-Arena this season, while Freiburg were the second-weakest away side in the entire league - only besting their hosts' record on the road.
The rollercoaster match provided neutrals with plenty of goals, quick, direct attacking play and an abject lack of defensive stability from both sides - especially in the first period.
Head coach Felix Magath's "wolves" opened the scoring within the first five minutes. Two winter signings combined, with Ricardo Rodriguez floating in a corner that Czech midfielder Petr Jiracek converted at the far-post. Freiburg defender Fallou Diagne will be disappointed that he failed to clear the corner long before it reached Jiracek.
Wolfsburgdominated the opening few minutes of play against the Bundesliga's most profligate defense and looked set for the comfortable win most expected.
End-to-end frenzy
After 10 minutes of play, however, Freiburg scored with their first clear-cut chance. Johannes Flum was in the right place at the right time to pounce on a blocked Daniel Caligiuri shot, tucking the ball into the bottom right corner from just inside the penalty area.
Marcel Schäfer restored Wolfsburg's lead almost immediately, completing a swift attack that began on the right flank. French forward Giovanni Sio - he's just joined from FC Sion in Switzerland - directed a low cross towards goal with a deft backheel and Schäfer was able to apply the finishing touch from point-blank range. There was, however, more than a whiff of offside about the near-post position adopted by Sio.
Freiburg's Daniel Caligiuri, by far the side's most impressive performer in the opening period, leveled the score at 2-2 in the 38th minute. Latching onto a low Jonathan Schmid cross at a tight angle to the left of Diego Benaglio's goal, Caligiuri took a touch to position the ball for his stronger right foot and then curled it exquisitely into the top-right corner.
Wolfsburgand Freiburg, again through Caligiuri, both came within inches of taking the lead in the closing moments of the first half.
Quieter after the restart
Both sides' defenders probably felt the wrath of their respective coaches Felix Magath and Christian Streich during the half-time team talks, and the second period was a less frenetic affair.
Petr Jiracek profited from a major deflection to bag his second goal and restore Wolfsburg's lead. Ill-fated defender Fallou Diagne tried to block Jiracek's shot from the edge of the box, only to redirect it beyond the reach of goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.
Felix Magath made a couple of personnel changes after the goal in a bid to shut up shop, and the plan ultimately worked, despite a few jittery moments.
Freiburg's best chance to tie the game for a third time perhaps unsurprisingly fell to Caligiuri, but he blasted wide from ten meters out attempting a running shot with his weaker foot.
All four Bundesliga title challengers are in action on Saturday. In the afternoon, Borussia Dortmund play host to Bayer Leverkusen, while Bayern Munich entertain relegation-threatened Kaiserslautern. On Saturday evening, Schalke visit Borussia Mönchengladbach - a key match pitting the third- and fourth-placed teams against each other.
Also on Saturday, Markus Babbel will travel to Werder Bremen with his new side Hoffenheim, hoping to get off to a winning start. Babbel, who was sacked from Hertha Berlin in December, was confirmed as Hoffenheim head coach earlier on Friday.
Author: Mark Hallam
Editor: Spencer Kimball