Paderborn win in Wolfsburg on second-half stoppage time decider | OneFootball

In the first day of the international break, VfL Wolfsburg played host to 2. Bundesliga side SC Paderborn 07 at the VfL-Center, just outside the Volkswagen Arena. Both sides came into this match with the most recent result having been a draw; Wolfsburg are 1-1-0 and sixth in their current Bundesliga campaign, whereas Paderborn are in the middle of the 2. Bundesliga table after four matches with a 1-2-1 record.

Paul Simonis experimented with formations, opting to choose a 4-1-4-1 instead of his typical 4-2-3-1. Two players made their non-competitive debuts along the back line: new signing Jenson Seelt, who joined from recently-promoted Premier League side Sunderland AFC, and 18-year-old wing-back Elia Dittrich, who scored twice in nineteen matches with Daniel Bauer's U19 side. Aaron Zehnter was unavailable for the match, as he was called up to the German U21 national team for their September fixtures.

18-year-old Trevor Benedict, who scored four times in fifteen matches, made his second appearance in the midfield, and Jesper Lindstrøm was cleared to play after a groin injury forced him out for a period; however, the latter would need to be brought off after a half-hour, replaced by another talent of the U19 program, Pharell Hensel.

Hensel would make a major contribution just four minutes after coming in, as his cross from the left edge of the Paderborn penalty area reached Jonas Wind. The 26-year-old Danish international forward, in open space on the left side of the goal area, would power a header past Markus Schubert and into the bottom-right corner to give Die Wölfe the lead.

Paderborn would pick up an equaliser two minutes into the second half; Nick Bätzner would dart into the edge of the Wolfsburg penalty area before launching an attempt between Seelt and Yannick Gerhardt, off the gloves of Marius Müller and into the bottom-right corner.

Paderborn would launch a series of attempts from the left and central sections of the Wolfsburg penalty area, but Müller managed to close the gap and deny most of them; however, the last one managed to find its way past him in the second minute of second-half stoppage time. Marco Wörner was the receipient of a ground pass from the left edge of the Wolfsburg area, and curled the ball into the top-right corner.

That is how the match would end, as VfL Wolfsburg fell to 1-0-5 in non-competitive matches during the 2025/26 season. Meanwhile, SC Paderborn 07 remain undefeated, 3-3-0 in six non-competitive matches dating back to the first week of July.

Paul Simonis was asked about the result by VfL Wolfsburg media, and said: “This match was very important for players like Jesper Lindström, Jonas Wind, Yannick Gerhardt and Marius Müller, those who have not played much or at all recently. Despite the many internationals we were missing, it quickly became clear that it it worth it for these guys. We also brought in a lot of U19 and even U17 players in the second half - it was valuable experience for them.”