Thunder, pyro, and late drama: Wolfsburg and Köln split points in Bundesliga thriller | OneFootball

VfL Wolfsburg faced 1. FC Köln at Volkswagen Arena this afternoon, in the third matchweek of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season.

Both teams entered this match with undefeated records. For VfL Wolfsburg, in their first season under Paul Simonis, they won their opening match in Heidenheim by a 3-1 result, and followed with a 1-1 draw against Mainz, a match in which they led for 80 minutes until Nadiem Amiri's equalising penalty late.

As for 1. FC Köln, they went into the third matchweek as one of only three teams with six points from six. They surprised 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the opening match on a late goal from Marius Bülter, and followed with a 4-1 win against SC Freiburg, in which the club successfully converted nearly 70% of their shots despite holding only 38% possession.

There has been a celebratory mood this weekend in Wolfsburg, as the club marks eighty years since its founding on 12 September 1945. As a result, this is the anniversary match, and the club will wear their 80-year uniforms this afternoon.

The mood in the venue would turn to that of disappointment after just five minutes. Marius Bülter would dart into the left side of the Wolfsburg third, before sending a ground pass into the centre of the box where Jan Thielmann was placed. Thielmann's ensuing shot was denied by Kamil Grabara, before former Wolfsburg forward Luca Waldschmidt sent the rebound past the Polish goalkeeper to open the scoring.

Waldschmidt and Thielmann would connect on yet another opportunity in the seventeenth minute, with the former supplying a pass to the latter from the right side of the Wolfsburg penalty area. Thielmann would follow with a right-footed shot, trying to pick out the top-right corner, but Grabara had no problem gloving the ball down with both hands and hanging onto it.

Rain started to pour heavily above the venue in the twenty-second minute; exactly one minute later, head official Bastian Dankert had no other option but to stop the match due to the risk of a lightning strike in the area. The players went to the tunnel, and the fans tried their best to avoid getting drenched.

Twelve minutes later, Dankert made the decision to restart the match at 17:05. Eric Martel made the first pass and the match was back underway.

In terms of momentum, the match did not see a shift in momentum - Lukas Kwasniok's Köln side continued their strong wing-based play, particularly along the right side of the Wolfsburg third where Jan Thielmann, Luca Waldschmidt, or even Sebastian Sebulonsen could use their speed to get past Joakim Mæhle. Waldschmidt in particular ran close to the Wolfsburg net in the thirty-fourth minute, but Moritz Jenz ran to the goal area in time to hoof the ball away for a corner.

Lovro Majer would get the first major chance for Wolfsburg in the thirty-sixth minute, taking a shot from the edge of the box that deflected off Eric Martel and over the bar for a corner. The ensuing corner was lobbed in by Andreas Skov Olsen, directed far-post but punched away by Marvin Schwäbe amid a mass of players in the centre of the box.

Majer drew a foul three minutes later, allowing Sebastian Sebulonsen to pull him down on the edge of the box. Maximilian Arnold lobbed in the following free kick, and Mohamed Amoura would leap above Kristoffer Lund to head in the equaliser for the hosts.

The atmosphere at the Volkswagen Arena became alive - and it motivated the squad to go for another. Amoura would run into open space on the left side of the Köln half just 90 seconds later, and fed Andreas Skov Olsen on the right side of the box. Skov Olsen's right-footed curler missed just wide of the top-left corner, and his following chance two minutes later, with Köln defendrs in front, also missed the left side of the net by metres.

Joakim Mæhle would attempt a bicycle kick in the centre of the box just moments before the halftime whistle; the ball deflected off the back of Raf van den Berg and out for a corner that would ultimately not be taken; Mæhle wanted a penalty, thinking that it was handball, but Dankert said no and drew the first 45 to a close.

Shots were 7-7, 4-1 on target to Köln at the halftime whistle. Possession was 59 in favour of VfL Wolfsburg, and pass accuracy was 85% on 263 passes compared to 77% on 183.

The second half kickoff was delayed for another reason: pyrotechnics! The Wolfsburg supporters set off a flurry of green-coloured flares as soon as the second half begun, which blanketed the hosts' penalty area; four minutes later, the match would get back underway.

Five minutes after the restart, Köln nearly jumped in front. A free kick on the left side of the Wolfsburg third found its way to Marius Bülter, who knocked the ball off the right post and over the line past a helpless Kamil Grabara; the goal would come back, however, as Marcel Unger raised the offside flag.

The visiting players believed that Bülter was onside, leading to a lengthy review that ultimately led Dankert to the VAR booth. After consulting with Christian Dingert and Franz Bokop, the two officials in the video room, the goal was ultimately disallowed anyway due to a shove from Joël Schmied on Patrick Wimmer in the lead-up.

In the sixty-second minute, Kilian Fischer sent a ground pass into the right side of the goal area, from the right edge of the Köln box; unfortunately for Mohamed Amoura, he could not take advantage, sliding back and sending the shot wide of the post while under pressure from Schmied and Timo Hübers.

Three minutes later, Wolfsburg would go on the attack on the other side, and they would score a goal that counted. Andreas Skov Olsen passed to Kilian Fischer, who found Joakim Mæhle on the right side of the box. Before the ball could run out of play, the Danish international found Lovro Majer at the edge of the goal area, and the Croatian tapped the ball bottom-centre past Marvin Schwäbe.

Shortly after, Majer took a yellow card for a reckless slide tackle on Martel; tensions rose between the two sides, but were eventually broken up, with cards being handed to both the players and certain members of the staff. At the same time, Mohamed Amoura went down with apparent groin injury concerns; he was substituted off by Paul Simonis, with Dženan Pejčinović taking his place at striker in Simonis' 4-2-3-1.

In the seventy-second minute, Wolfsburg would win a free kick after Said El Mala pushed Patrick Wimmer to the ground on the left side of the Köln third. Maximilian Arnold whipped in the free kick, which landed to Andreas Skov Olsen, in open space and from close range; the Danish international would be denied by a sprawling Marvin Schwäbe, and the visitors would eventually clear.

Schwäbe would face another shot just a minute later, this time from the right foot of Dženan Pejčinović; he would leap to send the ball away with his left hand, and the rebound would be cleared before Skov Olsen could get to it.

Said El Mala nearly tied the score for the visitors in the eighty-first minute, weaving his way past Skov Olsen and Majer into the left side of the Wolfsburg penalty area before eventually being cut off by Maximilian Arnold. Bülter would follow with an opportunity of his own two minutes later, a shot from the edge of the area that was denied by Grabara at the centre of the goal.

In the first out of fourteen minutes of stoppage time, the visitors would have their equaliser. El Mala, with pace, made his way into the left side of the box once again, evading Majer, Jenz, Skov Olsen, and Adam Daghim; he then found Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson in the centre of the visitors' penalty area, and the Icelandic international tapped the ball past a helpless Grabara.

Joakim Mæhle almost restored the lead for the hosts within the next two minutes, taking a through ball from Maximilian Arnold into the left side of the box and trying to lift the following chance above Schwäbe - however, the 30-year-old goalkeeper reached out with his left hand and punched the ball away from danger.

Substitute Jesper Lindstrøm, who was brought on for Skov Olsen in the eighty-ninth minute, was pushed off his mark by Martel just outside the Köln penalty area in the eighth minute of additional time. Maximilian Arnold would follow with a free-kick curler, well above Schwäbe and into the top-right corner to put Wolfsburg in front in the final minutes.

However, it was Wolfsburg loanee Jakub Kamiński who ruined the hosts' chances of walking out with three points in the fourteenth minute of fourteen. The Polish international received a ground pass from Ragnar Ache, following it with a tap-in towards the bottom-left corner.

Dankert would draw a close to a dramatic ending shortly after, as VfL Wolfsburg and 1. FC Köln both remain unbeaten through three matches in their 2025/26 Bundesliga campaigns. Wolfsburg are now 1-2-0 on 5 points, and Köln are 2-1-0 with 7.

VfL Wolfsburg will put their undefeated record to the test again next week, visiting Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park next Sunday, with kickoff set for 19:30 (CET). As for 1. FC Köln, they will face RB Leipzig in the Saturday primetime match, starting at 18.30 (CET) at Red Bull Arena.