First Team

Five goals in one half!

Kruse hat-trick helps VfL to 5-0 win over 1. FSV Mainz 05.

VfL Wolfsburg were right back on form to kick off Matchday 31, putting the disappointment of their recent heavy defeat in Dortmund behind them in fine fashion. The Friday night match saw the Green-and-Whites thrash Mainz 5-0, with the visitors reduced to ten men from the 24th minute onwards after Niklas Tauer was sent off.

Two goals from Jonas Wind (8’, 42’) and a hat-trick from Max Kruse (24’, 35’, 45’) powered VfL to victory and up to 11th in the table, and in a far more comfortable position in terms of maintaining their Bundesliga status.

Goals

  • 1-0 Wind (8th minute): Having been played in by Ridle Baku, Lukas Nmecha hits the post with a backheel. Wind is quickest to the rebound and stabs it home from just two metres out to give Wolfsburg an early lead.
     
  • 2-0 Kruse (24’): Penalty for the Wolves, and Kruse makes no mistake from the spot, sending the ball low into the left-hand corner.
     
  • 3-0 Kruse (35’): Kruse makes the most of the man advantage to score a highlight-reel goal. Baku brings down a cross-field volleyed pass and sends it into the box, where Kruse shows wonderful technique to hammer it home.
     
  • 4-0 Wind (42’): Wind also gets his second of the night. The ball finds its way back into the penalty area and the Dane is once again in the right place at the right time to fire home from eight metres out.
     
  • 5-0 Kruse (45’): Kruse gets his hat-trick just before the half-time whistle. A cross from Yannick Gerhardt gets all the way over to the far post where the 34-year-old forward is unmarked and able to make it 5-0 with a left-footed strike.

Reaction

Florian Kohfeldt: “This was a very important win for us, and we really showed what we were made of, particularly in the first half. Having said that, who knows what would have happened if Koen Casteels hadn’t made that incredible save when Mainz had a great chance when it was 1-0. We managed the game effectively in the second half. In terms of the table, the win has done us a lot of good and we’ll be looking to make survival a mathematical certainty in Stuttgart.”

Bo Svensson: “Our performance was an absolute insult in every respect in the first half. It wasn’t Bundesliga level. The result is tough to swallow and we’ll have to have some very frank discussions about the match within the squad.”

Line-ups and stats

VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Baku (74‘ Mbabu), Bornauw, Brooks, Roussillon – Schlager (64’ F. Nmecha), Arnold, Gerhardt, Wind (74’ Philipp), Kruse (81’ Paredes) – L. Nmecha (64’ Bialek)

Subs: Pervan (GK), Steffen, Vranckx, Lukebakio

1. FSV Mainz 05: Zentner – Tauer, Bell, Niakhate – Widmer, Stach (46‘ Papela), Lucoqui (46‘ Martin), Barreiro, Boetius (46‘ Kohr) – Burkardt (72‘ Onisiwo), Ingvartsen (46’ Hack)

Subs: Dahmen (GK), Brosinski, Nemeth, Stöger

Goals: 1-0 Wind (8‘), 2-0 Kruse (24‘/pen), 3-0 Wind (35‘), 4-0 Kruse (42‘), 5-0 Kruse (45‘)

Yellow cards: - / Kohr, Hack

Red card: - / Niklas Tauer

Referee: Harm Osmers (Bremen)

Attendance: 19,055 at Volkswagen Arena

First Team

Five goals in one half!

Kruse hat-trick helps VfL to 5-0 win over 1. FSV Mainz 05.

VfL Wolfsburg were right back on form to kick off Matchday 31, putting the disappointment of their recent heavy defeat in Dortmund behind them in fine fashion. The Friday night match saw the Green-and-Whites thrash Mainz 5-0, with the visitors reduced to ten men from the 24th minute onwards after Niklas Tauer was sent off.

Two goals from Jonas Wind (8’, 42’) and a hat-trick from Max Kruse (24’, 35’, 45’) powered VfL to victory and up to 11th in the table, and in a far more comfortable position in terms of maintaining their Bundesliga status.

Goals

  • 1-0 Wind (8th minute): Having been played in by Ridle Baku, Lukas Nmecha hits the post with a backheel. Wind is quickest to the rebound and stabs it home from just two metres out to give Wolfsburg an early lead.
     
  • 2-0 Kruse (24’): Penalty for the Wolves, and Kruse makes no mistake from the spot, sending the ball low into the left-hand corner.
     
  • 3-0 Kruse (35’): Kruse makes the most of the man advantage to score a highlight-reel goal. Baku brings down a cross-field volleyed pass and sends it into the box, where Kruse shows wonderful technique to hammer it home.
     
  • 4-0 Wind (42’): Wind also gets his second of the night. The ball finds its way back into the penalty area and the Dane is once again in the right place at the right time to fire home from eight metres out.
     
  • 5-0 Kruse (45’): Kruse gets his hat-trick just before the half-time whistle. A cross from Yannick Gerhardt gets all the way over to the far post where the 34-year-old forward is unmarked and able to make it 5-0 with a left-footed strike.

Reaction

Florian Kohfeldt: “This was a very important win for us, and we really showed what we were made of, particularly in the first half. Having said that, who knows what would have happened if Koen Casteels hadn’t made that incredible save when Mainz had a great chance when it was 1-0. We managed the game effectively in the second half. In terms of the table, the win has done us a lot of good and we’ll be looking to make survival a mathematical certainty in Stuttgart.”

Bo Svensson: “Our performance was an absolute insult in every respect in the first half. It wasn’t Bundesliga level. The result is tough to swallow and we’ll have to have some very frank discussions about the match within the squad.”

Line-ups and stats

VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Baku (74‘ Mbabu), Bornauw, Brooks, Roussillon – Schlager (64’ F. Nmecha), Arnold, Gerhardt, Wind (74’ Philipp), Kruse (81’ Paredes) – L. Nmecha (64’ Bialek)

Subs: Pervan (GK), Steffen, Vranckx, Lukebakio

1. FSV Mainz 05: Zentner – Tauer, Bell, Niakhate – Widmer, Stach (46‘ Papela), Lucoqui (46‘ Martin), Barreiro, Boetius (46‘ Kohr) – Burkardt (72‘ Onisiwo), Ingvartsen (46’ Hack)

Subs: Dahmen (GK), Brosinski, Nemeth, Stöger

Goals: 1-0 Wind (8‘), 2-0 Kruse (24‘/pen), 3-0 Wind (35‘), 4-0 Kruse (42‘), 5-0 Kruse (45‘)

Yellow cards: - / Kohr, Hack

Red card: - / Niklas Tauer

Referee: Harm Osmers (Bremen)

Attendance: 19,055 at Volkswagen Arena