Wolfsburg beats Heidenheim in wild chance-festival

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Wolfsburg beats Heidenheim in wild chance-festival.

Hardly had the whistle blown, the ball was already in the net: Alexander Bernhardsson needed just 35 seconds on Saturday afternoon to give VfL Wolfsburg the lead against 1. FC Heidenheim. It was the fastest goal of this Zweitliga season so far — and the opening of a wild afternoon that fully lived up to the "Chancen-Festival" label. In the end, it was a 3:1 (2:1) home win for Wolfsburg.

From a Heidenheim perspective, things could have gotten even more one-sided had Wolfsburg used their chances more consistently: Kumbedi (68'), Reese (71'), Damar (72') and the substituted Elvis Rexhbecaj (72') all missed the chance to seal the game in the closing stages.

How the fastest Zweitliga goal of the year fell

From Heidenheim's perspective, the match had actually started well: after just 15 seconds, Christian Conteh was free in front of Wolfsburg keeper Timon Wellenreuther — but the goalkeeper was wide awake and prevented the away side from taking the lead. Just 20 seconds later, the ball was in the net anyway — but in the Heidenheim one. Vinicius Souza held the ball in the box and passed to the edge of the area, where Bernhardsson hammered it home from 17 meters into the left corner.

Wolfsburg followed up immediately: in the third minute, Bernhardsson swung a corner to the near post, and Heidenheim's Julien Niehues headed the ball onto his own crossbar. Shortly after, Wolfsburg center-back Cleiton had to clear a looping header from Jan Schöppner off the line (11th) following a botched outing from Wellenreuther. A minute later, Alessandro Vogt celebrated what he thought was the equalizer — but the goal didn't count due to a prior offside position (12th).

Heidenheim pushes, Mainka rewards — and Glatzel shocks before the break

Heidenheim stayed on it. Saël Kumbedi hit only the post from a tight angle (15th) before the deserved equalizer arrived: after a Heidenheim corner, Wolfsburg couldn't clear it, Schöppner brought the ball toward the five-meter box, and Patrick Mainka headed it into the far corner (21st).

After that, the visitors had chances minute after minute, but neither Niehues (24th) nor Vogt (28th) hit the target from promising positions. From the 30th minute onwards, the match calmed down, Wolfsburg regained control — and almost went ahead themselves shortly before the break: in the 45th minute, Bernhardsson curled a shot from 20 meters onto the post.

Nevertheless, the hosts went into the dressing room with the lead. In stoppage time, Robert Glatzel headed a cross from Joakim Mähle into the net from eleven meters (45.+1) — the final note of a rapid first half.

Damar decides — and Strobl sees room for improvement

Even after the restart, the pace remained high, though with fewer goal-scoring chances. Vogt could have provided a flying start for Heidenheim in the 47th minute, but blasted the ball just over the bar. The visitors were the dominant team, but Wolfsburg increasingly brought the tempo under control.

The decisive moment came in the 65th minute: Fabian Reese played in Muhammed Damar about 20 meters from goal. His shot was crucially deflected by Mainka and nestled into the right corner, unstoppable for Heidenheim keeper Thomas Dähne. The goal visibly gave the VfL confidence, and although Heidenheim pushed once more, they created no more dangerous chances — Wolfsburg brought the points home.

What the coaches said after the final whistle

VfL coach Tobias Strobl was not entirely satisfied at the Sportschau microphone: "We wanted to become more stable defensively, and we didn't manage that in the first half. The response in the second half was all the more remarkable." His Heidenheim counterpart Frank Schmidt wrestled with the missed chances: "The team played a great away game and created a lot of chances, Wolfsburg had big problems against us. We should have taken the lead and then suddenly you're behind. We didn't take our chances, and then it becomes difficult to win a game like this."

Table and outlook

With the home win, Wolfsburg picks up seven points from the last three games and climbs to the relegation playoff spot. Heidenheim has now gone two games without a win and slides to fifth place — only one point separates the two teams. That Wolfsburg games currently promise spectacle had already been shown by the recent 5:1 against Darmstadt and the 4:4 against 1. FC Nürnberg.

Wolfsburg is back in action on Friday evening (18:30) away at VfL Bochum, while Heidenheim hosts Energie Cottbus on Saturday afternoon (13:00). You can find the detailed match report with all statistics and reactions at Sportschau.