Huge step towards safety: HSV beat Wolfsburg | OneFootball

On Saturday, Hamburger SV defeated the struggling Bundesliga team from Wolfsburg 1-2 (1-1) despite being behind. While VfL remains stuck in the relegation zone at 17th place in the table, Bauer, after just under four months in office, fears for his replacement.

Hamburg's Luka Vuskovic (33rd minute/penalty after video review) and Jean-Luc Dompé (58th minute/penalty) handed Wolfsburg their next defeat, with Christian Eriksen (22nd minute/penalty) scoring for VfL. Wolfsburg now has only one win from the past eleven matches and is trembling at the prospect of its first relegation in Bundesliga history.

Before the game, the Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung had reported on a possible separation from Bauer, who had only replaced Paul Simonis in November, in the event of another defeat. The paper had also recently mentioned Dieter Hecking, Friedhelm Funkel, and Thomas Reis as potential successors.

HSV with a big step in the right direction

It was not a final for him, but a "six-point game" for the club, Bauer had said in advance, before urging VfL fans to provide strong support to counter the HSV supporters.

In the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday, the Hamburg fans indeed occupied far more than the 3,000 away seats, and both sides created a lively atmosphere even before kickoff. The hosts were initially buoyed by this. Although Bauer had predicted there would be no "champagne football," his team showed improvement compared to the 0-4 loss against VfB Stuttgart the previous week.

Photo: Getty Images

Bauer's newly formed five-man defense effectively countered Hamburg's efforts in the early stages, while VfL repeatedly launched counterattacks. Dzenan Pejcinovic (14th minute) tested goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes, but Jesper Lindström couldn't capitalize on the rebound. Wolfsburg continued to press. Jan Bürger tested Heuer Fernandes from a distance, before Hamburg's Daniel Elfadli, in an attempt to clear, hit Yannick Gerhardt on the head. Eriksen confidently converted the resulting penalty.

And the next one was soon to follow in an intense Bundesliga match. Referee Florian Exner awarded a penalty after reviewing the video footage, following a foul by Wolfsburg's Moritz Jenz on Vuskovic during a free kick. The Croatian took the penalty himself, benefiting from goalkeeper Kamil Grabara letting the ball slip through his hands. Grabara did better when he saved a free kick from Dompé (35th minute). HSV grew stronger before the break.

Immediately after halftime, Heuer Fernandes (47th minute) prevented Wolfsburg from taking the lead amidst a scramble in the penalty area. In a tough game, both teams found it difficult to make progress. Wolfsburg's winter signing Jonas Adjetey, making his starting debut, put his team at a disadvantage by clearly holding Vuskovic in the penalty area. Dompé coolly converted the third penalty of the match. Wolfsburg had no response left.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.