2nd matchday: Double wind counters Waldschmidt – second Wolfsburg victory

With the second brace in the second game, striker Jonas Wind gave VfL Wolfsburg a dream start in the Bundesliga. In the 2-1 (0-0) away game against 1. FC Köln, the 24-year-old Dane scored both goals, as he did in the 2-0 start against newly promoted Heidenheim. It was Wind’s fifth brace in the Bundesliga, and the first in an away game.

Cologne had taken the lead against their home club through a goal by Wolfsburg loanee Luca Waldschmidt (55th), but conceded the second bitter defeat after the 0-1 loss at Borussia Dortmund the previous week. In the first two years under coach Steffen Baumgart, FC had won their first home game of the season. But the Cologne team lost against VfL for the third year in a row at home.

As usual, before the first game in their own stadium, the Cologne fans met at midday for an FC service in the cathedral. They prayed together and sang the club’s anthem before marching to the stadium in a fan march. Baumgart, meanwhile, relied on the same team that lost to runners-up Dortmund after a strong performance.

Cozza’s starting XI debut

For the guests, left-back Nicolas Cozza, who was signed from Montpellier in the winter, was the only change to his starting XI debut. A cross from the French gave Wolfsburg their first chance with a header from Lovro Majer (9′). In general, the guests had the clearer chances in the first round. It should have been 0:1 in the tenth minute when Patrick Wimmer ran freely towards the goal after a nice through ball from Vaclav Cerny, but went wide. Or in the 15th minute, when Wind failed after a cross from Joakim Maehle with a header and the follow-up shot to FC keeper Marvin Schwäbe.

Despite a decent performance before the break, Cologne only had one real chance thanks to the agile Rasmus Carstensen, who narrowly headed a Waldschmidt cross (13′). Worse still: Davie Selke, the only remaining center forward in the squad, had to leave the field early, as in the two previous games, because of his thigh problems. If he had ever been substituted in the 52nd minute before, he only lasted half as long this time.

And then the Cologne team scored – almost through a Wolfsburg player when Waldschmidt was successful with a left-footed shot from 18 meters. Shortly after Wind equalized on Mattias Svanberg’s layoff, Wolfsburg’s Majer hit the bar with a 22-metre shot (65′). In general, the guests were now clearly on the trigger again and were rewarded by wind again. In the first attempt, the Dane failed because of Schwäbe, but in the follow-up he pushed the ball over the line. The Wolfsburg team were very unlucky when a goal from Cerny was disallowed for an alleged foul Major, although the Croatian had played the ball (82′).