Defeat in Salzburg: Wolfsburg forgetfulness – sport
So much had been written and speculated about him in the last few days and weeks that one might have thought that Karim Adeyemi’s outstanding footballing skills were now known throughout European football. Adeyemi’s goal quota, his first nomination for the German national team, his possible move to FC Bayern – you had to work your way at FC Bayern to get past the 19-year-old. It was astonishing that Wolfsburg full-back Kevin Mbabu of all people had apparently not noticed too much of the hype about his opponent in the Champions League: Mbabu took about two and a half longer than the rest of the football world on Wednesday evening to get Adeyemi.
In the third minute of the game, Salzburg’s Philipp Seiwald played an interface pass in the direction of his center forward, but while the large majority in the stadium – including Mbabu – had long considered the situation defused, Adeyemi pulled on again, spitting the scared Wolfsburg defender the ball still off his feet, ran alone towards the goal and converted safely past Koen Casteels to an early 1-0 for Salzburg. It should be the prelude to a clear 3: 1 (1: 1), which already puts VfL under extreme pressure halfway through the group stage.
It was Nmecha who left disappointingly weak Wolfsburg for a short time
The Wolfsburg even had an equally young and talented answer to Adeyemi in their own starting line-up: Because Wolfsburg’s regular striker Wout Weghorst was missing due to a corona disease, coach Mark van Bommel puts 22-year-old Lukas Nmecha, who is the agile, by storm , Fast Adeyemi is really no stranger: In the summer, they both became U21 European champions together.
It was Nmecha, too, the disappointingly weak Wolfsburg as soon as possible: The Lower Saxony hardly came out of their own half of the game playfully in the first ten minutes, Adeyemi’s highly talented strike partner Noah Okafor hit the crossbar from close range. But then the defense of the Austrians at the first corner of VfL left the not exactly unknown Nmecha so criminally alone that he nodded off with a lot to 1: 1 (15th).
The 3: 1 against Wolfsburg underpins Salzburg’s claims in Group G.
The equalizer ended the Salzburg assault for the first time, but the hosts remained the more dangerous team for the entire season: Only with an unbelievable foot defense, Casteels was able to make it 1: 2 through the Croatian Luka Sucic shortly before half-time. Matthias Jaissle’s team then also determined the second half of the game, Adeyemi and Sucic had the best chances, but Okafor scored the well-deserved 2-1 after a corner (65th).
The 3: 1 in the 77th minute then again revealed the Wolfsburg forgetfulness, which should not actually occur at Champions League level: The substitute Bernardo could die VfL defense stand so alone in a corner in the penalty area that he headed was even able to continue playing at Okafor, who put in a short distance to the decision and once again underpinned the Salzburg claims in Group G: Austria’s champions are already five points ahead of VfL Wolfsburg after three match days.