Saturday, August 14, 2021 at 5:26 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 17:30

Mark van Bommel started his adventure at VfL Wolfsburg with a victory in the Bundesliga. The coach saw how Wout Weghorst became the most talked about man against PhD student VfL Bochum, with a missed penalty kick and a goal: 1-0. For Van Bommel, it was only his second victory since his arrival at Wolfsburg, as the coach had a dramatic preparation with five consecutive defeats. Bochum played almost the entire game with ten men after an early red card for Robert Tesche.

After an 11-year hiatus, Bochum returned to the Bundesliga this summer. Last season, the club became champion in the 2. Bundesliga for the fourth time in club history, after previous titles in 1994, 1996 and 2006. Wolfsburg secured a fourth place in the Champions League. As a player, Van Bommel remained unbeaten against Bochum with six wins and one draw in the service of Bayern Munich. Barely on their way to the Volkswagen Arena, the fans in attendance experienced the first moment of excitement.

After four minutes of play, it was already over for Tesche. The midfielder guarded the second catch during a corner and saw how the ball was headed on his arm from close range. Referee Frank Willenborg showed no mercy and sent Tesche off the field with a red card. Weghorst claimed responsibility for the penalty kick, but failed. Halfway through the first half, however, the striker corrected his mistake with a nice goal. Between three defenders, after taking the ball, he managed to turn on his chest and find the right corner with a nice shot: 1-0.

Wolfsburg had the better of the game in the first act, but barely managed to create any finished opportunities. Except for a shot by Maximilian Arnold on the stroke of half-time, the opportunities were scarce. Renato Steffen screamed in vain for a penalty after fifteen minutes of play. In the second act hardly anything changed in the game and it was mainly Wolfsburg that struck the clock. Weghorst soon seemed to double the score, but saw his header get caught by Manuel Riemann. The same Riemann was also in the way fifteen minutes before time on a shot from the striker in the short corner. Bochum only countered a shot by Milos Pantovic.