Wolfsburg find form to complete Krasnodar double
Thursday, November 6, 2014
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VfL Wolfsburg 5-1 FC Krasnodar
A glut of second-half goals helped the German side see off the visitors for the second time in a fortnight in Group H.
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• Wolfsburg complete back-to-back wins against Krasnodar
• Aaron Hunt scores twice within 12 minutes of coming off the bench
• Josuha Guilavogui and Nicklas Bendtner complete home scoring
• Wolves four points clear of third placed LOSC with two to play
• Next games: Wolfsburg v Everton, Krasnodar v LOSC (27 November)
VfL Wolfsburg moved within touching distance of a place in the round of 32 after substitutes Aaron Hunt and Nicklas Bendtner both scored twice to help secure a second win in a fortnight against FC Krasnodar.
There were also six goals when these two sides met on matchday three – the German side coming out 4-2 winners in Russia – but they were not immediately forthcoming in the first half.
For the hosts, Kevin De Bruyne had a shot crucially blocked from the edge of the area before seeing an effort from the tightest of angles roll across the goal line and away to safety. Diego Benaglio in the home goal needed to be on top form as Krasnodar – despite their place at the foot of the section – carved out a pair of outstanding openings. Odil Ahmedov saw his powerful shot kept out before the Swiss No1 showed unnatural reflexes to deny Wanderson from very close range.
The game was changed by an inspired half-time substitution from Dieter Hecking, who was rewarded within two minutes of throwing on Aaron Hunt as the forward guided the opener into the net with his head after Christian Träsch had provided the cross. Hunt doubled his own tally ten minutes later, latching on to an angled ball over the defence to guide a shot past Andriy Dykan.
Wanderson gave the visitors hope as he turned Robin Knoche inside then out before beating Benaglio, but the comeback was snuffed out within a minute when De Bruyne tormented his marked on the right flank and crossed for Josuha Guilavogui to tap in at the back post.
Andreas Granqvist brought down Hunt in the area in the dying moments and fellow substitute Bendtner stepped up to slot in the resulting spot kick, before the Dane added his second with a curling shot in added time.