As of: 01/21/2023 6:12 p.m
SC Freiburg received a hard knock from VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. Especially Patrick Wimmer and Jonas Wind whirled the SC defense upside down.
On Saturday (01/21/2023) Wolfsburg beat a pale SC, which showed unusual instability on the defensive, 6-0 (3-0). Wolfsburg’s Wimmer stood out with a goal (2nd), an assist for Jonas Wind (28th) and many offensive actions. Wind put together a brace himself with his second goal of the day (37th). Yannick Gerhardt (56th), Ridle Baku (80th) and Luca Waldschmidt (90th + 4/FE) also cheered for VfL.
The win means Wolfsburg (26 points) is four points behind SC Freiburg (30), who have slipped from second to fourth place.
Freiburg lacks defensive stability against forschen VfL
The game started fast. Because VfL combined directly with the first counter-attack towards the top. Gerhardt was quick-witted and pushed through to Wimmer, who sank the ball in the sprint with the pike.
Wolfsburg determined the initial phase and had over 60 percent of the ball possession at the beginning. It took almost 20 minutes for Freiburg to catch up. In terms of chances, however, not too much jumped out. Nicolas Höfler had Freiburg’s first good chance, VfL goalkeeper Koen Casteels saved (17′).
Wimmer striking: Wolfsburg impressively efficient
VfL acted with two chains of four and midfield pressing, Wolfsburg was waiting for the next golden moment. And he came. First SC goalkeeper Mark Flekken made a mistake in the build-up game, then Wimmer reacted faster than Christian Günter after a cross from Maximilian Arnold from the half field. Wimmer sent the ball to the striker Wind, who was more likely to be there than Höfler and defeated Flekken with his head.
But the first half wasn’t over yet: defender Micky van de Ven nibbled Maximilian Eggestein while dribbling, brought in a hard low cross and Wind kneed the ball in the goal. The “Wolves” were extremely efficient: They only needed six shots for three goals. Wimmer was involved in four of the six VfL shots on goal as a shooter or as a preparer.
SC in central midfield without access and ideas
It was unlikely that Wolfsburg could miss a three-goal half-time lead for the first time in their own Bundesliga history. That was because Freiburg continued to have problems against VfL, who played their attacks with precision. Already in half one the assertiveness was missing in the duels. Only Höfler and Michael Gregoritsch had a positive balance in these statistics.
And again there were deficiencies in Freiburg’s forward movement. The next misunderstanding against the dominant “Wolves” in midfield was not long in coming. Wimmer initiated the situation after SC lost the ball. The ball came to Gerhardt via wind and Felix Nmecha, who smashed the first VfL shot on goal in the second half through Flekken’s legs to make it 4-0.
Wimmer knocked out by Svanberg
After that, the game seemed decided. The busy Wimmer was accidentally knocked out by teammate Mattias Svanberg and had to be taken off the field in a daze. Waldschmidt came in for him (78′).
And then, after a cross from Kevin Paredes, who was also a substitute, Baku made it 5-0 in the penalty area without any opponent pressure, before Waldschmidt put the finishing touch with a converted penalty kick. Yannik Keitel brought van den Ven down.
Wolfsburg has to go to the capital
On the 17th match day of the Bundesliga, Wolfsburg is a guest at Hertha BSC (Tuesday, 8.30 p.m.). Meanwhile, Freiburg receives the reigning Europa League winner from Frankfurt (Wednesday, 8.30 p.m.).
Source: sportschau.de