Harsh Lessons Learnt Best

VfL Wolfsburg (Germany) – FC Krasnodar (Russia) – 5:1 (0:0)

Goals: Hunt, 47 (Träsch, 1:0), Hunt, 57 (Träsch, 2:0), Wánderson, 72 (Akhmedov, 2:1), Guilavogui, 73 (De Bruyne, 73:1), Bendtner, 89, from penalty (4:1), Bendtner, 90+1 (De Bruyne, 5:1).

VfL Wolfsburg (Germany): Benaglio, Schäfer (Klose, 39), Knoche, Naldo, Träsch, Gustavo, Guilavogui, Vieirinha, De Bruyne, Perišić (Hunt, 46), Dost (Bendtner, 75).

FC Krasnodar (Russia): Dykan, Jędrzejczyk, Granqvist, Sigurðsson, Kaleshin (Petrov, 30), Gazinskiy, Akhmedov, Pereyra, Laborde, Wánderson (Mamayev, 80), Ari (Izmailov, 71).

Yellow cards:  De Bruyne, 63 (foul play) – Laborde, 39 (cheating), Sigurðsson, 85 (foul play).

Referees: van Boekel, van Dongen, Goossens, Liesveld, Janssen (all Netherlands).

6 November. Germany. Wolfsburg. Volkswagen Arena. Cloudy. 7 degrees. 16 700 spectators.

All the pre-match predictions were reduced to the fact that the Bulls virtually had no chance in the second fixture vs. the Wolves. VfL Wolfsburg picked up a crazy pace having displayed a five-victory run in German Bundesliga (they flew up to its second position owing to that) and having won seven matches out of eight making a tie only once in a month and a half. When playing at their home Volkswagen Arena in UEFA Cups the green-whites have been constant at beating their Russian opponents represented in the pervious years by CSKA Moscow and FC Rubin Kazan. All the key players of Dieter Hecking’s squad were available for the game, and what’s more the attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne from Belgium was in fantastic shape. Besides, the German team could afford to play freely enough as the necessity to win by hook or by crook did not dominate them anyhow. Sure, the success in the match would bring VfL Wolfsburg close to qualifying out of the group, but the draw was also an acceptable result for them as it would make their standing in the four-team table a bit worse but not that far to make it critical.

As for FC Krasnodar they could not afford losing at all as in this case even a speculative success in the two remaining fixtures, which would be super hard to achieve, was leaving just a bleak chance to qualify for the spring stage of the tournament. Besides the burden of their standing in the UEFA Europa League table the Bulls were pressed with a background of two inglorious defeats in both the Russian Cup and league championship from the not-so-top teams. Moreover, for the Europa League fixture the Head Coach Oleg Kononov still could not count on his principal «efficiency provider» Joãozinho with the latter’s suspension ending exactly after the game in Wolfsburg.

Alas, all these joyless predictions for the Krasnodar team were fully proved with the match outcome. But if one who had watched the whole first half was told the score after the half-time (be it a super fan of VfL Wolfsburg or not) he might decide he had his leg pulled. Indeed, the starting 45 minutes were in favor of the visiting team; even though the score did not reflect it the game itself did with the amount of the sharp moments created.

The Bulls did not exactly throw themselves at their opponents from the start as if they might some toreador’s muleta, but in the first 10 minutes they made as many as three shots on Benaglio’s goal. None of those was on target, but if Pereyra’s shot from afar was an obvious zeroing in, then Wánderson could have made a better shot from his position and Granqvist who had won a duel in the air after a corner kick lacked just a tiny bit to hit the closer top corner of the net.

The home team replied with their real first attack only on the 12^th minute. At first Granqvist placed himself in front of Guilavogui’s shot from the penalty area line, then De Bruyne in the left sector of the box feinted past Sigurðsson and made a shot at the second goalpost, but there was only FC Krasnodar’s Akhmedov and he was not in the mood to meet that drill cross.

Exactly in the middle of the first half No. 10 of the Bulls came close to success at the opposite goal and that made a first true scoring chance of the match. Pereyra executed a classy through pass and saw Akhmedov to the striking position; Odil made a biting shot from 10 meters into the close corner, but VfL Wolfsburg’s most experienced keeper was not caught off guard with it and grabbed the ball.

The Wolves were not okay with the way the game went so they tried to suppress the Krasnodar players, but instead they missed a sweeping counterattack on the 28^th minute.  Akhmedov and Pereyra crossed the centre of the pitch in two rapid passes and delivered the ball to Laborde who had unmarked on the right and made a sighted cross to Wánderson. Francisco made a splendid side bicycle kick from 7 meters; Benaglio reacting in a flash made one of those saves called the “brilliant” ones in Europe.

Before the half-time VfL Wolfsburg also had a chance to score an opener, admittedly not such a fat one as FC Krasnodar had. On the 35^th minute De Bruyne sped up the counterattack very similar to the one leading to a scored goal by the Germans in a game of both clubs two weeks ago, but this time his partner Guilavogui did not return the ball to the Belgian player taking a shot by himself instead and missing the far corner of the net.

What could also be noted in the first half were the forced substitutions of the left full-backs made by both teams. After half an hour of the game an injury made Kaleshin of FC Krasnodar give his place on the pitch to Petrov, and 9 minutes later Klose took to the field instead of VfL Wolfsburg’s Schäfer, that is to say not “the” Miroslav Klose, but bearing the same last name Tim Klose from the Switzerland national team.

Unfortunately, the beginning of the second half once again was failed by Krasnodar players; that was not the first time this season when they conceded a right away goal after coming out of the dressing-room. It happened in the home match vs. VfL Wolfsburg, it happened in Germany. Aaron Hunt, an Englishman with a German citizenship substituting Perišić during the half-time, singled himself out with his very first touch of the ball. He was assisted by as many as three players while scoring, namely Träsch making a cross from the right flank, Dykan failing to reach the ball coming out of the goal and Goossens the assistant ref who failed to notice that VfL Wolfsburg’s striker was a little but definitely offside.

The Bulls could have scored an equalizer quickly. Active and persistent Laborde shifted to the centre from the right, broke away from two opponents and made a powerful shot, but once again Benaglio displayed his top class and saved the home team. Five minutes later the ball got into Dykan’s net again after a flank pass by Träsch and Aaron Hunt’s shot. This time the forward was in a right position and the goalie couldn’t help his team as he was shot pint-black.

The way it happened in the home match vs. the Wolves, the Bulls did not surrender after letting in twice even though they could have conceded a third goal. It was De Bruyne with his masterful pass seeing Dost into a killing position, but Dykan proved that his reaction is in no way inferior to Benaglio’s. This save inspired FC Krasnodar for a successful attack. Akhmedov with a vertical throw sent Francisco Wánderson into the breach, the latter confused Knoche with his feints, effectively broke away from him and outplayed the home team’s keeper in a “close combat”.

Then the déjà vu from the October clash in Krasnodar occurred anew: the Bulls had hardly returned to the game when they conceded a goal. De Bruyne was super good again the way he was two weeks ago (although enjoying less scored goals); he seemed not to have noticed Petrov on the left and made an ideal drill cross to Josuha Guilavogui who took a shot several meters away into the empty goal.

The game was done for, but at the same time the teams did not stop playing football. Shortly after Dykan saved FC Krasnodar once more after Dost’s shot on goal, and a bit later VfL Wolfsburgs’ keeper Benaglio was confident in catching the ball after an aimed shot by Pereyra from a free kick.

In the very end of the match the crushing defeat of the away team was finished by Nicklas Bendtner of the Wolves who came out as a sub. At first he executed the penalty kick earned by restless Hunt. VfL Wolfsburgs’ No. 10’s dive was more pictorial than real, but the Dutch referee van Boekel believed him observing a micro touch by the Swede. Although Dykan guessed right the direction of the kick from the penalty spot he was unable to reach the ball. As late as in the injury time Bendtner, who had missed almost two months due to an injury and was hungry for the goals, scored once more from the game having swung past Sigurðsson and making a precise shot next to the second goalpost.

5:1 was a sad score for FC Krasnodar displayed on the scoreboard after the final whistle. The young Club keeps raising «eurobumps», and this one turned out to be the most painful. But the harsh lessons are learnt best, and the negative experience is often more useful than the positive one. As for the tournament situation it leaves the Bulls with a meager chance to keep fighting. The black-greens can now qualify out of the group only in case they win twice and either Everton F.C. or VfL Wolfsburg lose twice in the remaining matches.