Niko Kovac has achieved the longed-for liberation with VfL Wolfsburg at his old place of work. The Lower Saxony won 1-0 (0-0) at Eintracht Frankfurt and achieved their first win in the sixth game of the season. Kovac should be able to breathe a little after he was released as Bayern coach in 2019 after a 1: 5 at SGE.
With the tailwind of the first victory, Niko Kovac gave the strong man. An hour after the 1-0 (0-0) win at Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt, the coach unequivocally ended Max Kruse’s chapter at VfL Wolfsburg. “He wasn’t there today and won’t be there in the future either,” said Kovac sky.
For the game, he had already removed the offensive player, who was not exactly easy to care for, from the squad. He had the opportunity “to help the team, but he didn’t help her,” Kovac announced. The victory was initially a minor matter.
In Frankfurt, however, the Lower Saxony showed their mental qualities. Kovac should be able to breathe a little after he was released as Bayern coach in 2019 after a 1: 5 at SGE. “We saw as a team how we have to stand together and work together. That was the key to success. It was a step in the right direction,” judged VfL captain Maximilian Arnold.
Maxence Lacroix (60th) ensured the sixth triumph in the last seven guest appearances with their favorite opponent. In the duel between the coaches and their ex-clubs, Frankfurt suffered a completely unnecessary bankruptcy after four games without defeat. For the Champions League game at Olympique Marseille on Tuesday, Oliver Glasner’s team has to improve a lot.
VfL Wolfsburg Maxence Lacroix scores the winning goal
Kovac had spoken of “a nice trip” before returning to the Main. But given the club’s worst start to the season, there was no time for a pleasure trip. “It’s all about reducing mistakes,” said the 50-year-old coach. His team has “a lot of catching up to do” in defense in particular.
He returned to the back four for more stability. Fast transition situations and set pieces should be the offensive recipe – and that led to success almost early on. After a corner, Bartol Franjic (15th) came free-standing to the header, but Kevin Trapp parried brilliantly.
Mainly, however, the Lower Saxony were intent on destruction, received the slightly rotating Europa League champion deep in their own half. And despite the visual overweight, he couldn’t think of much, the last pass was often missing.
Exceptions were a narrow attempt by Daichi Kamada (38′) from a tight angle and a post crash by Kristijan Jakic (39′) from 20 meters. On the other side, Trapp had to defuse a tight low shot from Mattias Svanberg (32nd) before the break, and Lukas Nmecha (42nd) missed after a counterattack.
After the change, the game became much more mixed up, with a lot going on in midfield. A goal could only come from a standard in this phase, Lacroix nodded a corner before Trapp hurried out. Glasner, who moved to the Main from Wolfsburg in 2021, brought fresh offensive forces with Lucas Alario and Jesper Lindström, but it rarely became really dangerous.
The game was briefly interrupted in the first half when two climate activists came into the Frankfurt penalty area and wanted to tie themselves to the post. However, they were stopped by stewards and police officers and led from the square.
Eintracht Frankfurt – VfL Wolfsburg: The voices
Oliver Glasner (coach Eintracht Frankfurt): “A fully deserved victory for Wolfsburg. I’m very disappointed with our performance. Slow, sluggish, flawed, then this isn’t the first time we’ve lost because of a set piece conceded. Tomorrow we’ll hold ourselves in the mirror and have to speak clear words.”
Niko Kovac (VfL Wolfsburg coach): “We’re very happy about the away win. We made life very difficult for Eintracht, basically didn’t allow anything. We worked and fought passionately. These are the first three points and I hope it’s just the beginning.”
Eintracht Frankfurt – VfL Wolfsburg: The data of the game
