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Women’s Bundesliga: Wolfsburg shrug off early penalty to complete Köln rout

By News Update

New Delhi: A five-star performance saw VfL Wolfsburg score a dominant 5-1 victory over FC Köln at the AOK Stadion on Sunday to reaffirm their European aspirations on Matchday 3 of the Women’s Bundesliga.

The visitors were the unlikely scorers of the first goal, with Köln forward Nicole Billa converting her penalty gifted by a horrible miscommunication in the She-Wolves backline. Mere minutes later, the tie was equalized by Wolfsburg skipper Alexandra Popp. Lena Lattwein ensured her side returned to the dressing room with a lead, before Jule Brand, Lynn Wilms and Lineth Beerensteyn added to the visitors’ woes.

After the disappointments of the previous season, Wolfsburg were in desperate need for a refresh to climb back on the summit of domestic and European football. That refresh has begun stutteringly, with Wolfsburg dropping points against Werder Bremen, followed up by an unconvincing victory over newly-promoted Carl Zeiss Jena.

For the She-Wolves, the signs were still more positive going into the third round tie against FC Köln, having drubbed Fiorentina 7-0 in the Champions League just four days ago. Come the kick-off on Sunday, the fast start at Florence felt lightyears away, as the hosts were dreadfully slow in asserting control against an opponent which narrowly avoided relegation last season.

In fact, it was Köln who displayed a dangerous edge in the opening minutes, with forward Nicole Billa almost punishing the hosts after they gave the ball away cheaply near their own box. Some 20 minutes after kickoff, Wolfsburg were recapturing possession, but still far from fluent in their passing.

Catastrophe was waiting in the wings, and showed its face in the 24th minute, when Merle Frohms’ erroneously sent her pass to Köln forward Dora Zeller, forcing Wolfsburg centerback Kathrin-Julia Hendrich to lunge at her and concede a penalty. Billa however, was error-free from the spot.

Köln’s dreams of a upset victory were dashed almost instantaneously, when Jule Brand drove into the Köln box, before finding her skipper Alex Popp with a square pass, with the latter effortlessly popping at the near post and guiding the ball into right-hand side of the net. Come the end of the first half, the hosts were cranking up the pressure. Svenja Huth caught a fizzing low cross in the six-yard box, before laying it off for Lena Lattwein. Her curling effort however bounced off Köln skipper Sara Agrez’s arm, launching fervent demands for a handball.

A few minutes later, the decision felt like a non-issue, when Köln keeper Paula Hoppe failed to stop Lineth Beerensteyn’s cross from reaching Lattwein, who only had to tap the ball into an open net to hand the hosts’ the advantage going into the second half.

If a scoreline of 2-1 seemed too inviting for a Köln comeback, the She-Wolves were quick to snuff out any hopes. Lynn Wilms’ corner delivery in the 51st minute met Alex Popp’s head at the near post, with the Köln keeper instinctively parrying the powerful header. However, the ball fell favourably to Brand on the far post, and the visitors again caught out with an open net.

By the one-hour mark, Köln had almost completely evaporated in terms of influence, with Wolfsburg clearly smelling blood in the waters and targeting Hoppe. Lynn Wilms did exactly that in the 68th minute, spotting the Köln keeper off her line and firing an audacious long-range effort from the sidelines. It was a stupendous sight to see the ball rattle the net from that outrageous distance.

The final meaningful sequence was reserved for Beerensteyn in the 83rd minute. First she combined trickery and pace to have a go at Hoppe, with the keeper diving down diligently. But it was the subsequent corner that again put the keeper in trouble, who could only watch the cross float over her outstretched gloves, and into Beerensteyn who volleyed into an open net.

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