VfL Wolfsburg opened the new campaign with a slender 2-1 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
Bas Dost and Ivan Perisic struck early for the Wolves, who threatened to turn the game into an early drubbing until Stefan Reinhartz’s effort seemed to push them into their shell.
Wolfsburg were made to work in a tightly contested second half and overcame last season’s late defensive lapses. Eintracht will be looking to seek positives out of a solid performance without their goal scoring machine Alexander Meier, missing the match due to injury, but will feel they were unlucky not to leave with their first point(s) of the campaign.
VfL Wolfsburg
Koen Casteels – 7.5: It will not be easy to replace long-term custodian Diego Benaglio, but Wolfsburg may have found someone to fill his boots. Castlees was excellent when needed most, particularly in the second half.
Ricardo Rodriguez – 7.5: Picked up where he left off last season, another impressive display out wide in both defence and helping out up front.
Timm Klose – 6.5: Caught out by Stefan Reinhartz but kept composed throughout a gruelling second half.
Naldo – 7: Had his work cut out for him early and proved his class with numerous last-ditch efforts. An experienced defender doing what was expected of him.
Vieirinha – 8.5: An unlikely man of the match. The midfield area lacked the dominance of Kevin De Bruyne but Vieirinha caused headaches all over the pitch.
Maximillian Arnold – 6.5: A deeper role for Arnold has seen him slow his tempo and use the ball intelligently. Could work on a few things defensively but whenever he found some more space in midfield his passing play dictated the Wolves’ attacks.
Joshua Guilavogui – 8: Some touches let him down but he shielded the back four beautifully all match.
Ivan Perisic – 7: Showed why Inter are interested in his services, getting in behind the back four and putting his chance away when it came.
Max Kruse – 8: Combined well with Bas Dost. One (and a half) assists provided the perfect launching pad for what could be a dangerous partnership.
Kevin De Bruyne – 6.5: Not near his best and it seems like transfer speculation was toying with him.
Bas Dost – 7.5: Did what he does best. See ball, get ball, score ball.
Substitutes
Christian Trasch – 5: Praised as versatile and will get more of a chance to show it in the coming games.
Aaron Hunt – 5: Worked hard during his time on the pitch.
Nicklas Bendtner – 4.5: Replaced Dost with four minutes remaining.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Lukas Hradecky – 5.5: Received limited help from his defence. Made some good saves throughout the game.
Makoto Hasebe – 5.5: Looked out of his depth as a full-back. Settled in more in his natural midfield role, not a great performance against his former employer.
David Abraham 6.5: Kept the Wolves at bay, albeit after a disappointing defensive display to begin the day. Some good work in the second half saw the game remain close.
Carlos Zambrano – 5: Escaped a red card for a poor tackle on De Bruyne. Did manage to keep the home team out of the penalty area for a large portion of the game.
Bastian Oczipka – 6: Suffered early with Vieirinha and Perisic but recovered well as the game wore on, managed to shut down the creativity of the Wolfsburg midfielders.
Stefan Aigner – 6.5: Proved dangerous up front, managing to give Rodriguez something to think about.
Marco Russ – 5: Absent from the game and did not get a lot of time on the ball.
Stefan Reinartz – 6.5: His Eintract debut was up and down; poor defending lead to a Wolfsburg goal but a classy finished dragged his team back into it.
Takashi Inui – 5: A day to forget. Subbed off at half time and will be disappointed with his first half. Not physical enough to compete with Guilavogui and the Wolfsburg midfield.
Luc Castaignos – 6: Would have liked to have used the ball better.
Haris Seferovic – 7: Went about his job with the right pace and enthusiasm, a delightful assist provided the Eagles with a chance at claiming some points but denied by solid defence.
Substitutes
Aleksandar Ignjovski – 5.5: Added a little bit of spark, allowing Hasebe to find his comfort zone. Sured up the defence and gave De Bruyne nothing.
Luca Waldschmidt – 4.5: Did not see much of it and did not have an impact.
Joel Gerezgiher – 5: Did all he could in his limited time on the field.
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