Wolfsburg vs. Bayern Munich: Score, Grades, Reaction from Bundesliga Game
Kevin De Bruyne put on a master class, and the Bundesliga restarted with a shocker as Wolfsburg humiliated leaders Bayern Munich, 4-1, on Friday evening at the Volkswagen Arena.
The hosts went ahead in the fourth minute, Bas Dost finishing off a quick counter after fine work from Daniel Caligiuri and De Bruyne. Dost then doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time with an impressive volley before De Bruyne added the third early in the second half.
Juan Bernat pulled a goal back for Bayern early in the second half, but Wolfsburg and De Bruyne restored their three-goal lead with another lethal counter in the 73rd minute.
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With the win, second-placed Wolfsburg moved up to 37 points through 18 matches. Bayern Munich remain atop the table but now lead by eight points.
Even after the defeat, however, Bayern will remain firm favourites to claim the Bundesliga title for a third year running. The loss was Bayern's first of the campaign, and before Friday, Pep Guardiola's side had allowed only four goals all season.
"Obviously it’s not a good restart for us," Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said, per FCBayern.de. "We expected a different outcome and went out there looking for it too. It’s not a catastrophe, but we know we still have a lot to do."
Wolfsburg will not concede the title race, of course, but Friday's win likely did more to consolidate their hold on second place. Following the upset victory, Dieter Hecking's men are now nine points clear of third-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
Up next, Wolfsburg play at Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday. Bayern Munich host Schalke the same day.
Before kick-off, the home supporters paid tribute to the late Junior Malanda with a display that translated to "Forever in our hearts." The Wolfsburg midfielder was killed in an automobile accident on 10 January.
With the Bundesliga's long winter break finally finished, Wolfsburg needed little time to open the scoring. In the fourth minute, the hosts countered quickly, Caligiuri picking out De Bruyne with a cross-pitch pass to the edge of the box. De Bruyne then passed to Dost, who slotted in past Neuer for a quick 1-0 Wolfsburg lead.
Bayern had held the majority of possession until the opening goal, which did little to change the pattern of the game. The visitors continued to dominate the ball but struggled to turn possession into chances.
In the 14th minute, Bayern's Xabi Alonso set up Bastian Schweinsteiger with a clipped pass into the box. Schweinsteiger directed his header on target, but Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio saved comfortably.
Bayern had another half-chance in the 29th minute, David Alaba hitting a sweetly struck shot from the edge of the box. Benaglio saved again, this time moving to his right to make the stop.
Wolfsburg could have had a second goal in the 41st minute as Dost beat Neuer to a Caligiuri pass following another quick counter. But Dost was unable to put his shot on target, sending the ball wide.
It was only a momentary let-off for Bayern, though. In the second minute of stoppage time, Wolfsburg doubled their lead after Bayern were unable to clear a free-kick.
Dost was the scorer again, latching onto a half-clearance and lashing an unstoppable volley past Neuer from the edge of the box to give the hosts a two-goal advantage at the interval.
Leading by two goals at half-time, Wolfsburg added a third in the 53rd minute. Again, the hosts hit Bayern on the counter, Maximilian Arnold sending De Bruyne clear behind the defence with a pass down the middle. De Bruyne held his nerve and finished coolly past Neuer into the bottom corner for a 3-0 lead.
Bayern pulled a goal back just two minutes later. Holding possession inside Wolfsburg's box, Bernat cut inside from the left but lost possession as he neared goal. The ball took a fortunate bounce, however, as Naldo kicked straight back to Bernat. With his second chance, the Spaniard made no mistake from a tight angle.
Wolfsburg should have had another goal in the 57th minute, but Arnold blasted over the bar from close range following good buildup play from Dost and Ivan Perisic. One minute later, Bayern's Robert Lewandowski shot off target at the other end as the visitors tried to cut into the deficit further.
Bayern came close in the 71st minute as Schweinsteiger hit a free-kick short to Arjen Robben. Robben rocketed his shot on target, but Benaglio saved.
Two minutes later, Wolfsburg grabbed their fourth goal. Arnold tore open Bayern's defence as the hosts countered at pace yet again. After tormenting Dante one-on-one, De Bruyne slammed his shot into the roof of the net to give Wolfsburg a 4-1 lead.
Bayern were stunned, but the game was not quite finished. Benaglio made a good stop in the 82nd minute to deny Robben. Three minutes later, Bayern substitute Claudio Pizarro blasted over the bar from close range after latching on to a loose ball.
The visitors kept pushing for goals until the final whistle, but after 90 minutes of outstanding counter-attacking football, Wolfsburg were worthy winners.
Grades
| Diego Benaglio | 7.0 |
| Vieirinha | 8.0 |
| Naldo | 7.7 |
| Robin Knoche | 7.2 |
| Ricardo Rodriguez | 7.3 |
| Maximilian Arnold | 8.1 |
| Luiz Gustavo | 8.0 |
| Daniel Caligiuri | 7.5 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 9.7 |
| Ivan Perisic | 6.9 |
| Bas Dost | 9.2 |
| Marcel Schafer (for Perisic, 81') | 6.0 |
| Nicklas Bendtner (for Dost, 83') | 6.0 |
| Aaron Hunt (for Caligiuri, 86') | No rating |
| Manuel Neuer | 5.3 |
| Sebastian Rode | 5.8 |
| Jerome Boateng | 6.3 |
| Dante | 6.6 |
| Juan Bernat | 7.4 |
| Xabi Alonso | 6.3 |
| Arjen Robben | 6.9 |
| Bastian Schweinsteiger | 7.3 |
| David Alaba | 6.5 |
| Thomas Muller | 5.8 |
| Roberto Lewandowski | 6.1 |
| Mitchell Weiser (for Rode, 51') | 6.2 |
| Claudio Pizarro (for Lewandowski, 71') | 6.0 |
| Mario Gotze (for Muller, 71') | 6.0 |
Reaction
Bayern defender Jerome Boateng (via FCBayern.de):
"It’s simple—we played really badly. It might be good that it’s happened to us today because it’s a wake-up call. We can’t afford another performance like that. We weren’t aggressive and gave away possession far too easily. We have to take a good, long look at ourselves. We all know we’ll need a vast improvement against Schalke if we’re to make amends for this.
"
Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hecking (via FCBayern.de):
"If you’re to beat Bayern you need a day like that. The team went out and did everything we’d talked about before kick-off. We wanted to tempt them into coming at us, win possession and quickly transition to attack. It’s worked out 100 percent, but we never expected a win like this.
"
