Wolfsburg and Schalke were attempting to put in a better performance this week after both sides put in disappointing performances in Week 1 of the Bundesliga. Today’s match at the Volkswagen Arena turned into nothing but punishment for Schalke when the second half came to it’s conclusion.
Wolfsburg vs. Schalke: Final score 4-0, Die Wölfe cruise to an easy win
Wolfsburg was not happy with its loss last week to Hannover, and they took it out on Schalke.
New signing Luiz Gustavo was thrust right into the starting lineup for Dieter Hecking's side after only one day of training with his teammates. He formed a nice triangle in the midfield next to Koo Ja-Cheol with Diego playing the more advanced role.
There weren’t a lot of chances throughout the first half for either side. The only early opportunities were a volley from Julian Draxler that was blocked and a free kick from Naldo that brought out a decent save from Timo Hildebrand. Wolfsburg had three opportunities to go on top, but Ivica Olic, Vieirinha, and Naldo all missed the target. Klaas Jan Huntelaar almost gave Schalke the lead before the end of the first half, but his shot struck the post and went wide.
Huntelaar did not come back out for the second half due to a knee injury, and Jens Keller turned to the former Mainz man Adam Szalai. He was nearly involved in giving Schalke the lead, but Draxler wasn’t able to finish the pass. Christian Clemens then ripped a shot toward goal, but Hildebrand saved. That was it for Schalke.
Robin Knoche opened the scoring for Wolfsburg in the 55th minute after converting a pass from Ivan Perisic. Within 12 minutes, it was 3-0. Perisic and Koo combined for a nice passing sequence, but the ball deflected to Vieirinha for an easy finish. Naldo scored in the 67th minute for the third goal by scoring a rebound off of a corner kick.
Schalke’s heads were hung and Wolfsburg added a fourth in stoppage time. Stefan Kutschke scored his first Bundesliga goal to finish the battering of Schalke with a final scoreline of 4-0.
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