The Foals kicked off the 11th Bundesliga Matchday with an impressive 4-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg. Tomáš Čvančara, Rocco Reitz, Franck Honorat and Alassane Plea all found the net.
The Foals were on the front foot from the start in front of 45,308 spectators at BORUSSIA-PARK. They took the lead from their first good attack of the game through Tomáš Čvančara in the 16th minute. Borussia remained dominant for the rest of the first half and were rewarded when Rocco Reitz made it 2-0 shortly before the break in the 42nd minute. After the Foals managed to withstand a short spell of pressure from the guests at the start of the second half, they then took back the initiative and wrapped up the game via a quickfire double from Franck Honorat in the 64th minute and Alassane Plea in the 71st.
TEAM NEWS
Head coach Gerardo Seoane made two changes to his starting eleven. Nathan Ngoumou and the injured Jordan were replaced by Manu Koné, who made his return from suspension, and Tomáš Čvančara. Joe Scally, Nico Elvedi, Max Wöber and Luca Netz made up the defence in front of goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas. Rocco Reitz, Julian Weigl and Koné started in central midfield, while Franck Honorat, Alassane Plea and Čvančara were the front three.
As well as Jordan (adductor muscle injury), Lukas Ullrich (shoulder operation), Ko Itakura (ankle operation), Tony Jantschke (back in training after muscle issues), Yvandro Borges Sanches (recovery training), Hannes Wolf (recovering from a meniscus tear) and Jonas Omlin (recovering from a shoulder operation) all missed out for Borussia.
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
5': The first chance of the night for either side, as Kaminski takes aim from the left-hand side of the penalty box. Nicolas is able to easily deal with his low shot.
16': Borussia take the lead! After a well-worked give-and-go with Plea, Honorat cuts the ball back to Čvančara, who coolly slots it into the left corner of the goal.
18': So close to another for the Foals! Plea attempts a shot from the edge of the box, but Casteels is able to push it past the right post in the nick of time.
36': Wolfsburg manage to muster up another shot, as Wind's effort from 20 metres out sails wide of the target.
38': Čvančara is through on goal after getting on the end of a long ball from Netz. The striker looks to get off a shot on target, but isn't able to fully connect with the ball, allowing Casteels to make the save.
42': A second goal for the hosts! Casteels misplays a pass straight to Reitz, and the midfielder makes no mistake. He breaks past Vranckx and slots home to put the Foals 2-0 up just before the break.
45'+1: The final chance of the opening half falls to the Foals, as Čvančara lays the ball off to Netz. His shot is blocked by Zesiger, who deflects it away from goal.
SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
46': Wolfsburg are able to record a shot on goal just 20 seconds after the restart. Nicolas has to really stretch in order to push Vranckx's effort from 20 metres out past the post.
47': The Foals counter quickly, as Koné attempts a shot from a tight angle. Bornauw is able to get in the way of it, as Borussia are awarded a corner.
50': Plea picks out Čvančara with a long ball from within his own half, but the striker isn't quick enough to get past Bornauw.
53': The visitors come close to getting one back. Wind is able to get off a shot after combining with Kaminski, but his effort flies wide of the right post.
64': 3-0 to Borussia! The Wolves are unable to fully clear a corner from the Foals, and it falls to Honorat on the edge of the box. The Frenchman takes one touch to settle it, before smashing a shot on target. Casteels is able to get a hand to it, but is unable to prevent Honorat's powerful strike from hitting the back of the net.
71': It's four! Honorat drives down the right wing, before passing it to Scally. He lays it off for Plea, who makes it 4-0 with a one-time effort from just inside the penalty box.
84': Shortly after coming off the bench, Ngoumou attempts a shot from the left-hand side of the box, forcing Casteels to punch the ball away from danger.
85': Wolfsburg look to threaten once again via Wind, as he gets on the end of a cross. His header fails to find the target, however, going just wide of the left post.
STATISTICS
Borussia: Nicolas – Scally, Elvedi, Wöber (Chiarodia 82’), Netz – Weigl, Reitz, (Ranos 87’) Koné (Kramer 77’) – Honorat, Plea (Ngoumou 83’), Čvančara (Neuhaus 77’) // Unused substitutes: Olschowsky, Friedrich, Herrmann, Hack
Wolfsburg: Casteels – Maehle, Bornauw, Zesiger, Rogerio (Cozza 46’) – Vranckx, Arnold, Kaminski (Baku 54’), Paredes (Cerny 67’) – Wind, Tiago Tomas (Majer 54’)
Goals: 1-0 Čvančara (7’), 2-0 Reitz (42’), 3-0 Honorat (64’), 4-0 Plea (71’)
Yellow cards: Elvedi – Arnold, Vranckx, Cozza
Attendance: 45,308
