Werkself lose 3-1 to Wolfsburg in home opener

Unsurprisingly, the captain was disappointed after the match. “We made too many easily avoidable mistakes. Even the lead didn’t boost our confidence. We had ambitious goals, but things didn’t go smoothly, we made mistakes. But we showed last season we can bounce back after a bad start. We have to achieve that again this time,” said Lars Bender.

 Bayer 04 head coach Heiko Herrlich made two changes to the team that started in Mönchengladbach in the first match: at right-back Mitchell Weiser took over from Benny Henrichs, who has left Bayer for AS Monaco. Captain Lars Bender replaced Dominik Kohr in central defensive midfield. Sven Bender has yet to return to the squad, with keeper Lukas Hradecky starting on the bench. Wolfsburg were without first-choice netminder Koen Casteels, who left at short notice because of the imminent birth of his child, Pavao Pervan from Austria deputising between the sticks.

Spirited start

Bayer 04 showed verve and determination after the kick-off. Barely 20 seconds had been played when a last-ditch tackle spoiled Julian Brandt’s chance after a pinpoint Kevin Volland pass. Lucas Alario saw an effort blocked, Jonathan Tah glancing a header a yard wide following a Bailey corner (2’). Brandt’s left-footed shot then went over the bar (5’). The Werkself showed their ambitious intent, although they were lucky when Wout Weghorst missed the near corner of the net from close range following an Arnold free-kick. Ramazan Özcan was wide awake, shining with quick reactions to push out a Gerhardt effort from the edge of the box (10’), before the keeper made another fine save, denying Gerhardt with his foot (12’). The confidence gained by the Wolves from their first-day victory against Schalke began to tell now, as VfL went on the attack.

Bailey fires home

Bayer 04 now struggled to get a grip against the visitors and their strong passing game. Pervan comfortably denied Mitchell Weiser’s low shot towards the near post (18’). The home side soon took the lead: Leon Bailey raced clear – Lucas Alario had skilfully created space for him – and blasted a powerful left-footed drive from 20 yards past Pervan (24’). Weghorst’s heavy challenge on Lars Bender meant a moment of shock, with Bender requiring treatment to his ankle (29’). 

Özcan proved equal to Weghorst’s back-heel (35’), but the chance showed VfL were looking for the equaliser. Yannick Gerhardt’s shot from near the byline came as a surprise to the Bayer 04 keeper, who deflected the ball into the net (36’) - Bayer 04 knew they would have to wait longer for their 350th clean sheet in the Bundesliga. A Steffen header almost put Wolfsburg in front with the half-time whistle imminent (44’).

Weghorst turns the game

As in the first half, Bayer 04 created the first chance of the second period almost immediately after the restart, but Volland’s header from Alario’s cross went over the bar (46.). However, it was Wolfsburg who came from behind to lead when Weghorst exploited a moment’s lack of concentration in the home defence and beat Özcan with an unstoppable header to put his side 2-1 up (55'), although Wendell was on the ground injured at the time. The Brazilian, who had been struck on the ankle by a powerful shot, was unable to continue and gave way to Charles Aránguiz (59'), the Chilean making his very first appearance of the campaign, including the pre-season period. Aránguiz had barely taken up position in midfield when Renato Steffen closed out a slick Wolves’ attack to make the score 3-1 (60'). Wolfsburg had turned the game completely on its head.

The Werkself sought a way back into the contest. Alario failed to get his head on a cross (66'), and Bailey was crowded out in the box (67.). Heiko Herrlich opted for a double change, with Paulinho and Kiese Thelin replacing Volland and Alario (71'). It mean a Bundesliga debut for young Brazilian Paulinho, but it proved a disappointing afternoon for the Werkself’s forward line, who were unable to put the visiting defence under effective pressure. Paulinho’s shot drifted wide (87'), and Pervan beat out Thelin’s header (90') as Bayer 04 slipped to a sobering 3-1 defeat.

The Bundesliga now takes a weekend off for the international break. In their third match of the league campaign, Bayer 04 travel to face champions FC Bayern at the Allianz Arena on Saturday 15 September. Kick-off in Munich is at 15.30 CET.

Match stats:

Bayer 04: Özcan – Weiser, Tah, Dragovic, Wendell (Aránguiz 59') – L. Bender, Havertz – Brandt, Volland (Paulinho 71'), Bailey – Alario (Kiese Thelin 71')

VfL Wolfsburg: Pervan – William, Knoche, Brooks, Roussillon (Uduokhai 84') – Camacho – Arnold, Gerhardt – Steffen (Mehmedi 67'), Brekalo – Weghorst (Ginczek 81')

Goals: 1-0 Bailey (24'), 1-1 Gerhardt (36'), 1-2 Weghorst (55'), 1-3 Steffen (60')

Referee: Jablonski (Bremen)

Booked: Dragovic, Kiese Thelin, Weiser – Camacho, Roussillon, Ginczek

Attendance: 26,247