Wolfsburg overcome 1899 Hoffenheim in season finale

All eyes were on the Rhein-Neckar-Arena on the final day of the season as VfL Wolfsburg looked to guarantee themselves a place in the Bundesliga next season. Results elsewhere were bound to have an affect with Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach both in the mix, but Marco Pezzaiuoli made it very clear that the Wolves shouldn't expect to get any favours from his side. The 42-year old was making his final appearance as the head coach of the Kraichgau outfit and was determined to go out with a positive result.

Pezzaiuoli had to do without Isaac Vorsah who failed to recover from a thigh injury in time to feature, giving Matthias Jaissle another opportunity to play alongside Marvin Compper. Other than that 1899 remained unchanged from the side that beat 1. FC Nürnberg.

Starke on top in battle against Grafite

With so much on the line VfL Wolfsburg, without Diego, started the match the stronger of the two sides. 3 minutes in and Riether created the first chance whipping in a teasing cross, but Grafite could only head the opportunity wide with Starke rooted to the spot on his goal line. Hoffenheim maintained a slight advantage in the opening stages, while Wolfsburg were purposeful going forward. The initial euphoria was short-lived though as the game lost it's ebb and flow with both teams giving away possession cheaply in the middle of the park. Just before the half hour mark and Starke was on hand once again to deny Grafite, sticking out a leg to turn the striker's effort round the post. It meant that a first half that never picked up, petered out sending the teams in deadlocked at half time.

Wolfsburg survive a big scare

Hoffenheim came out in the second half with a lot more impetus and it only took them a matter of minutes to signal their intent. Roberto Firmino found Gylfi Sigurdsson, whose long-range effort just whistled past the post. Seconds later though, the provider turned goal scorer as Rudy conjured up a sublime pass to find Firmino's run in behind allowing the Brazilian to clip the ball beyond Benaglio for 1-0. With Frankfurt and Gladbach both winning, Wolfsburg were all of a sudden staring relegation in the face and Magath reacted by brining on Cicero for Kahlenberg. The change had little affect as 1899 stayed on the front foot creating several noteworthy chances. Firmino tried his luck to no avail as he looked to add to his tally, before Babel released Sigurdsson in behind, but the fan favourite hit his shot straight into the arms of the Swiss international goalkeeper. However, staying true to their seasons form the Sinsheim side failed to put the game to bed and were made to pay by their opponents. The equaliser came just after hour mark when Compper failed to track Mandzukic's run. Josue found the pass through the backline and the striker chipped past and onrushing Tom Starke. 1899 weren't about to lie down and give up as Babel's solo effort forced another good save out of Benaglio in goal.

Magath could hardly sit down as he urged his team forward from the sideline, which they duly continued to do. He was ripping his hair out in the 69th minute though, when Riether could only get a toe on Mandzukic's cross, failing to turn it towards goal. Wolfsburg kept the pressure on the home side, with Starke once again keeping Grafite at bay before the crucial second goal went the way of the visitors. With just over a quarter hour left Dejagah drilled a corner into the box allowing Mandzukic to put the finishing touches from close range, giving Starke no chance of making a save. Hoffenheim were stunned by the second goal as they were punished twice for failing to extend the lead and disappointment didn't stop their as the Wolves added a third with 12 minutes remaining. Breaking down the right the ball into the box fell kindly to Riether on the edge of the box who pulled the trigger only to see his effort deflect off of Grafite and into the back of the net sending Starke completely the wrong way. There was a nice touch towards the end of the match when Marco Pezzaiuoli brought on Chinedu Obasi and Dominik Kaiser. Obasi has ben plagued by injuries this season, while Kaiser was making his Bundesliga debut. It had no effect on the result in the end as Wolfsburg held on to the two-goal lead and the Bundesliga careers. The win sees Magath's side avoid the relegation zone altogether as Frankfurt drop into the 2. Bundesliga, leaving Mönchengladbach to compete in the play-off.

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