After a dream Bundesliga winning streak of ten games, VfL Wolfsburg lost their first game of the second half of the season, with a 2-0 loss away to FC Energie Cottbus on Sunday night.
Cottbus’ leading goal scorer, Dimitar Rangelov, scored the opening – and winning – goal in the 72nd minute, followed fifteen minutes later by Ervin Skela’s goal at the Stadion der Freundschaft.
Energie Cottbus had conceded their biggest loss of the season, just last weekend, with a 4-0 loss to FC Shalke 04, and have been battling in the relegation zone.
VfL Wolfsburg was on Cloud Nine after ten consecutive wins, including a 5-1 home win against German giants Bayern München, flying the Wolfsburg flag to the top of the Bundesliga ladder.
The loss to relegation-bound Cottbus was as much of a surprise to the general public as it was to the supporters.
“We wasted some great chances today, and that’s why we lost the game,” said Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath. “Cottbus put on a good, battling performance today, while our young side appeared inhibited. We weren’t as compact as we had been in recent weeks.”
Despite the loss at the peak of the team’s form, and missing the chance of a record eleven consecutive wins in the league, The Wolves are still holding pole position in the Bundesliga, two points ahead of Hertha Berlin BSC, and with five games remaining.
Wolfsburg and Bosnia and Herzegovina midfielder Zvjezdan Misimović looked on the bright side of the loss, suggesting it could provide the players with more determination.
“In recent times we didn’t need all that many chances to score goals. This time around we didn’t take the chances we made. Maybe it was a defeat at the right time.”
The win narrowly lifts FC Energie Cottbus one point above the relegation zone, after DSC Arminia Bielefeld drew 1-1 away to Borussia Mönchengladbach, who currently hold sixteenth and seventeenth positions, respectively.
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