Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at 8:36 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 20:40

VfL Wolfsburg did itself a very disservice on Tuesday evening with a view to a possible winter in the Champions League. The team of trainer Mark van Bommel visited Red Bull Salzburg several times in a flashy mistake in defensive terms and had to bend 3-1. Due to the defeat, Wolfsburg is third in Group G and is still waiting for the first win of this Champions League season. Salzburg is in the lead with seven points from three matches.

Van Bommel had to do without Wout Weghorst in Austria. The striker, who has lost his base place in the Bundesliga, has been infected with the corona virus and is in mandatory home isolation. His place in the point of the attack was taken by Lukas Nmecha, just like on Saturday. It didn’t take Salzburg long to deliver the first blow of the match. The ball was in the net after just three minutes of play, when Kevin Mbabu made a terrible mistake and let Karim Adeyemi go inside. The attacker remained cool face to face with Koen Casteels and hit the short corner.

A quick lead????

Karim Adeyemi shoots Red Bull Salzburg at a 1-0 against Wolfsburg ?#ZiggoSport #UCL #SALWOB pic.twitter.com/GviTZ0GHsX

— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) October 20, 2021

However, the home team could not enjoy the lead for a long time, as Wolfsburg drew the score again after fifteen minutes of play. Nmecha headed into the far corner from a corner by Maximilian Arnold: 1-1. That standings at that time were a good reflection of the balance of power on the field. Both teams barely managed to create opportunities that were played out, with Salzburg having the best opportunity to go into the break with a lead. A shot by Luka Sucic was just blocked by Casteels. In the second act too, the moments of excitement could almost be counted on one hand.

After a shot from Sucic could be blocked by Jérôme Roussillon, it was hit after more than an hour of play. Again, Wolfsburg’s defense didn’t look strong. Between a forest of defenders, Noah Okafor got the ball somewhat fortunately in front of the feet to make an effective shot from close range: 2-1. Wolfsburg had the chance to equalize through Renato Steffen, but the attacker could not get his foot behind the ball on a rebound. Not much later, the home team closed the game. Again Okafor was the final station and the Swiss Casteels had no chance for the third time: 3-1.