Reese stars as Wolfsburg win 5-2 in Karlsruhe

Fabian Reese was the key figure in VfL Wolfsburg's 5-2 (3-2) away win at Karlsruher SC on Saturday. The attacking player provided an assist and scored two goals himself to lead his team to a third-season victory in an entertaining match.

The team coached by Tobias Strobl now sits in fourth place in the current season with four points from two games. They have scored one goal and conceded none, giving them a positive goal difference of +1. In the title race, however, VfL are still five points behind leaders Hertha BSC.

The match developed into an offensive spectacle from the start. Karlsruher SC took the lead as early as the seventh minute. Shio Fukuda scored with a header from a corner after a headed pass from Franke. Just three minutes later, Alexander Bernhardsson equalized for Wolfsburg. His header from a crossed ball by Fabian Reese found the net. But the visitors' joy was short-lived. Marvin Wanitzek shot KSC back into the lead in the 12th minute with a dream goal from 17 meters.

Wolfsburg showed character and fought back. In the 45th minute, Vinicius Souza capitalized on an error by Karlsruhe goalkeeper Hans Christian Bernat to make it 2-2. After the break, the Lower Saxony side started better. Bernat had to make saves against Bernhardsson in the 52nd minute and against Kento Shiogai in the 56th minute. The decision came late. In the 88th minute, Hauke Wahl scored to make it 4-2 for Wolfsburg. In stoppage time, Fabian Reese completed the 5-2 final score after another lapse in concentration by the Karlsruhe defense.

Fabian Reese was consistently booed by Karlsruher SC fans throughout the match. The reason lies in the close friendship between Karlsruhe supporters and the fans of Hertha BSC, Reese's former club. The disappointment over his move from Berlin to Wolfsburg was expressed in the whistles. After the game, the 28-year-old spoke emotionally about the hostility. "Jeder sollte sich hinterfragen, wie es ist, wenn man von dreißig,- vierzigtausend Menschen ausgepfiffen wird als 28-jähriger Junge." Reese said.

Coach Tobias Strobl defended his player. "Das war nicht nur seine Entscheidung," emphasized the Wolfsburg coach. He pointed out that Reese's transfer to Wolfsburg had also benefited Hertha BSC.

Several individual errors shaped the high-scoring course of the game. Karlsruhe goalkeeper Hans Christian Bernat was directly at fault for two conceded goals. He could have saved Souza's shot for the 2-2 equalizer, and for the 3-2 just before halftime, he played the ball directly to the Wolfsburg attacker's feet. There was also a glaring mistake on the other side. Wolfsburg keeper Jakub Zielinski played a catastrophic misplaced pass in the first half, which Marvin Wanitzek only narrowly missed. Bernat, however, also showed his strong side with an outstanding save against a shot from Muhammed Damar.

Another point of discussion was a possible penalty for KSC in the 77th minute. Noel Eichinger went down in the Wolfsburg penalty area after contact with Mathys Angely. Referee Lars Erbst, however, allowed play to continue. VAR referee Katrin Rafalski did not intervene. This decision is said to be in line with new guidelines to only correct clear errors.

The clear away win gives VfL Wolfsburg momentum for the upcoming tasks. The team now has seven points from three games and has created a strong starting position for the next few weeks. The next test is already on September 5th. Then VfL will host seventh-placed Energie Cottbus at home. A look at the standings shows that Wolfsburg is well placed in the race. The complete schedule for the coming games can be found on our fixtures page. For coach Strobl, it is important to combine the defensive stability of the first two games, in which only 22 opponent shots per team were allowed, with the offensive power now demonstrated.