Biggest win of the season after debacle
Kruse’s Wolfsburg dismantle Mainz furiously
4/22/2022, 10:22 p.m
After the debacle against Dortmund, VfL Wolfsburg passed the cup on. FSV Mainz 05 suffered more after being crushed by the wolves. For Florian Kohfeldt’s team, staying in the Bundesliga is almost certain.
With a shooting match out of the relegation battle: With its highest win of the season, VfL Wolfsburg has eliminated the last doubts about staying up in the Bundesliga. Favored by a 67-minute majority, the Lower Saxony outclassed FSV Mainz 05 5-0 (5-0), improved to twelfth place in the table and put nine points between themselves and relegation rank 16.
Max Kruse had the greatest share in the completely safe success with a three-pack. The ex-national player, who was almost a total failure six days ago in the 6-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund, scored in the 24th minute with a penalty kick and in the 35th minute and in injury time in the first half. Before the change of sides, Jonas Wind also scored twice (8th and 42nd).
After a nervous start, the early lead gave the hosts support. VfL captain Koen Casteels prevented the Mainz equalizer (15′) with a foot defense against Jonathan Burkardt, after which the guests dived completely. And from the 23rd minute they had to make do with just nine field players: Niklas Tauer saw the red card after video evidence, it was the fourth Mainz dismissal of the current season.
Fifth bankruptcy in a row for FSV
Even at this early point in time, the one-sided game was practically decided, and coach Bo Svensson’s team sealed their fifth defeat in a row. The coach often stood motionless on the edge of the field for minutes and seemed unable to comprehend what was happening. Despite this bankruptcy, his team defended ninth place in the table in front of 19,055 spectators.
Even after the highest half-time lead in their 25-year Bundesliga history, the North Germans didn’t give up at the beginning of the second 45 minutes without being able to create further clear chances to score. With a lot of running work, Mainz managed to free themselves from the Wolfsburg grip at least in phases. In the offensive, however, Mainz practically did not take place.
So VfL coach Florian Kohfeldt could afford to take his top scorer Lukas Nmecha off the field after a good hour. The national player had torn many gaps for the two goal scorers Kruse and Wind with a lot of commitment and long distances.