Wolfsburg 2-2 Hertha Berlin
I may have said a couple of times that there are a few football leagues that bring as much excitement as the Bundesliga. The quality of football being played and the number of superb talents playing in the German top flight so far this season have made Bundesliga 2018 odds difficult to predict!
And this game between two clubs with brilliant league starts is a testament to how exciting Bundesliga football can be! Bruno Labbadia and Pal Dardai fielded two equally impressive XIs that played equally impressive football!
The end of this exciting game is one that will be talked about for days on end!
Highlights of the game
The match had a fiery start as Wolfsburg tried to make the most out of their strong form at home that started late last season. Jerome Roussillon almost grabbed a goal on three minutes when he fired a first-time shot to the Hertha Berlin net. His powerful effort was somehow saved by Rune Jarstein, resulting in a corner that was defended well by Die Alte Dame.
Wolfsburg, a club looking to be progressive on and off the pitch, would continue to try and break through the walls built by Dardai’s 4-1-4-1. The extremely crowded midfield meant that those attacks didn’t result in much success for Die Wolfe. However, it wasn’t like they didn’t get any more chances to score.
William broke free from his marker and launched a mid-range rocket towards the top-right corner. The Norway international had to pull out another impressive save from his locker in order to prevent Berlin from conceding another goal.
From that point on, the game became a tussle for control as both teams tried to gain a sure advantage and score the first goal of the match. Referee Christian Dingert had to pull out a yellow card against Marko Grujic for a rough tackle.
Berlin didn’t hesitate to risk getting carded as they continued hitting Wolfsburg with hard fouls. Their tactic eventually got the better of their hosts as they began to settle to their rhythm and slowly enforce their will against their opponents.
They almost turned their momentum to a goal at the end of the half when Salomon Kalou fired a well-placed shot to the bottom-right corner. However, Koen Casteels was more than ready to meet the ball and pulled off a superb save to end the half with neither team getting the lead.
The start of the second half almost seemed like a mirror image of the first half as Wolfsburg once again overwhelmed the guests with continuous attacks. William, Roussillon, and Gerhardt tried everything they could to bring some cheer to the home fans, but the Berlin wall stood tall.
It was then that Hertha Berlin found a goal in the 61st minute to validate their defensive brilliance thus far. Javairo Dilrosun intercepted the ball from Wolfsburg and made a blitzing run with the rest Berlin’s attacking unit supporting him. He then fired a bullet of a ball to the bottom right hand of the goal. There was nothing Casteels could do as Berlin’s travelling fans celebrated their sudden 0-1 advantage.
Wout Weghorst tried to even out the playing field three minutes later with a first-time shot, but Rune Jarstein was just a big block in between the sticks with another diving save. Valentino Lazaro had a shot at equalising when he blasted the ball to the top bins, but Casteels made sure that their predicament didn’t get any worse.
From that point on, Wolfsburg were desperate to at least salvage a draw and kept on pounding the Berlin backline. Roussillon almost equalised in the 85th minute with a ferocious strike that was stopped by Jarstein.
It was from that point on that the fame got incredibly intense. Dingert awarded Wolfsburg a penalty after a rather controversial foul by Arne Maier. Yunus Mali outwitted Jarstein and scored the equaliser. Ondrej Duda one-upped Malli’s steely spot-kick with a brilliant low free kick, catching the Wolfsburg wall and Casteels off guard.
And just when it seemed that the game was done and dealt with, Admir Mehmedi managed to beat the offside trap and score the final goal of the game on 93 minutes.
The whole stadium trembled at the level of football displayed by the two sides. The two managers congratulated each other for the brilliant game they witnessed. It is definitely a prime example of why SBOBET fans just love watching Bundesliga football!
Key statistics
Wolfsburg dominated the ball during the first half, getting as much as 72% possession during the first twenty minutes of the game. The game eventually balanced out with a 60-40 split in possession. The goal attempts are as proportionate as their time with the ball (15 to 9), but Berlin were far more effective on the attack.
Here’s an interesting nugget: Wolfsburg’s last seven Bundesliga games prior to this match saw both sides score over 2.5 goals. This includes their superb comeback against Schalke. The result continues that impressive feat for Die Wolfe.
What’s next?
Let’s hope that this string of impressive Bundesliga 2018 results doesn’t come to a screeching halt. And it looks like the good times will keep on coming as there are interesting fixtures up ahead.
Wolfsburg will be playing Freiburg and Borussia Monchengladbach at home with a trip to Mainz sandwiched in between. Meanwhile, Berlin have a tough challenge in Bayern Munich at the end of the month, but it could be postponed.
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