Wind the hero as Wolfsburg edge out Mainz in seven-goal thriller

Sunday’s entertainment in the Bundesliga kicked off with VfL Wolfsburg hosting Mainz. Bo Svensson’s men were denied victory as Jonas Wind’s late brace snatched a 4-3 win.

Fans at the Volkswagen Arena were treated to a flurry of early goals as the visitors opened the scoring in the 11th-minute. Kaishu Sano picked up the ball in midfield and fed Jae-Sung Lee. The Korean spotted the movement of Paul Nebel who tucked it past Grbara from 12 yards. Wolfsburg responded 8 minutes later as Tiago Tomas ran down the left. The Portuguese received some good fortune as his cross deflected to Mohamed Amoura to tap in with ease. 

The drama continued as Bo Svensson received a yellow card as he appealed to Timo Gerach for a foul by Maxi Arnold on Paul Nebel. Mainz went on to restore their lead just before the break. Hanche-Olsen retrieved possession in a duel with Amoura to slip it off to Nadiem Amiri. The German midfielder sprayed a pass wide to Anthony Caci whose cross fell to Bell. The centre-half couldn’t convert, but Jonathan Burkardt was on hand to chest home his 10th-goal of the Bundesliga season. 

Such was the see-saw nature of this clash, Die Wölfe responded after the break with Tiago Tomas and Mohamed Amoura playing central roles in the move. The latter cut down the left to cross for the Portuguese striker whose effort deflected off Hanche-Olsen and beyond the hapless Robin Zentner. But Mainz would respond and Nebel popped up with the magic. Although Grbara got a hand to Burkardt’s effort, the 22-year-old punished the Wolfsburg shot-stopper from the rebound. 

It looked as if Mainz, who are typically sturdy in defence, would hold on for all three points. However, Wolfsburg had other ideas when Yannick Gerhardt’s delivery from the flank landed in the box. Neither Bell or Hanche-Olsen dealt with it so Joakhim Mæhle stepped in to feed his compatriot Jonas Wind to smash it past Zentner. With one of the last acts of play, Wolfsburg made it 4-3 in dramatic circumstances. Not even a VAR review could deny Jonas Wind of his brace as he turned Maxi Arnold’s freekick into the net.