Bundesliga 2021/22- 22 women chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end a German team wins

Don’t think I’ve seen Wolfsburg play so bad in the first 15 minutes of the game, it’s like they can’t out two passes together!
1-0 for Chelsea on the counter

 

Wassmuth gets one back/

Long balls, that’s where it’s at! lol

 

They have made the right changes, but look woefully disorganized; and to make things worse, their coach swaps Hendirch from a CB, to a RB, and instantly concedes lol. You can't make this script any more symbolic of Wolfsburg's struggles.

They also really need a better plan than sit deep, and hold on for 90 mins...

 

When she injured her hip?

 

Roord makes 2-1, looks like Chelsea’s high press earlier on exhausted them

 

And this is why I can't go along with any of the hype associated to the 50/50 football (playing for percentages) played by the English teams... It allowed a Wolfsburg side lacking any real confidence, and true direction, to end the half not only with a 1-2 lead, but a clear route towards accomplishing success in the 2nd half.

 

If they start the 2nd half right, and bring VDS into the match at the right time... the way this match set up now, could see Wolfsburg in a strong position to not only win this game, but do it potentially scoring 3 goals away from home to an opponent many (including me) felt too tough a task for them right now...

 

I was gonna wait till after this game to respond to your posts Batfink, but seems like Wolfsburg made the right changes actually, though looking terribly disorganized the first 20 minutes of the game or so

two bad mistakes by Berger led to two goals but at least Wolfsburg made the right changes…

 

I KNEW IT!...

 

No need for Pajor when you got Wassmuth! 3-1

 

3-2 as some shoddy defense from WOB

 

No wonder Jansen don’t play CB for the Dutch! 3-3 final

they should kept Roord & Wassmuth in the game, as well thought Lattwein played her best too since joining Wolfsburg

 

Well... other than having a really good individual defensive performance, Janssen's latest UCL outing see's another big mistake ruin what should have been a deserved win for Wolfsburg.

And honestly... did anybody think that would be the general sentiment from this match...

 

Her last two UCL errors have been really frustrating, but really shouldn't obscure everything else positive she's provided her team.

Agreed... taking off BOTH Roord (hold up, linking play), and Waßmuth (direct hard running), removed all the threat Wolfsburg held on the counter versus Chelsea.

And the difference/improvement you see when Lattwein - Oberdorf play as a CM duo is really obvious too. Wolfsburg went from having 8 credible players tonight, to potentially having 10 lol.

 

Bringing Knaak into this match almost killed them lol... as she's still a passenger who honestly doesn't belong at this level. But I also feel like if their coach had changed Wolter with VDS first, allowing Waßmuth - Roord - VDS to end the match all together, Wolfsburg go on to score a 4th way before Chelsea have a chance to equalize.

Plus after a lapse in concentration going from a RB, to a CB, the Wedemeyer - Janssen CB partnership looked pretty good to me, no? Helped MASSIVELY from the selfless work of Oberdorf - Lattwein in front of them, providing a physical presence to withstand the early onslaught, then a genuine stability once they grew into the match as a team.

It also needs to be said the return of Rauch proved crucial here, as she at least shut me up lol, showing a level of maturity in her role, I honestly never knew her capable or producing.

 

They still have A LOT to work on, and won't find all their opponents as tactically open as the English teams will be in this tournament. But if Wolfsburg's coach can finally take what he's seen from this match, and put it into his future plans for this team, they might be able to salvage this seasons poor start.

Waßmuth finally showing what she can do. Roord finally falling into a role she no longer steps on Huth's feet, and is still an effective player for this team. Lattwein doing what she does best when she's alongside a true CM partner. Just like I've been saying, the pieces are all there, they just need to be used correctly to build a team.

They can't go backwards anymore now... and I hope MVT's amateurish little notebook received an update after seeing that...

 

Watching the highlights, Chelsea definitely made many defensive mistakes that led to those goals. Miscommunication on who was doing what.

 

Your forgetting this performance is coming from the same group of players that only a few days prior, played a mid-table Freiburg side using the same formation as Chelsea, and STRUGGLED to gain a point away from home lol.

Then after we see them looking lost for 15 minutes versus an even more hyped than usual Chelsea side, Wolfsburg end up finishing the match disappointed
they failed to hold on to what was a deserved lead deep into injury time.

For the mistakes on show from Chelsea, this was a match Wolfsburg went a goal behind, and still found a way to come back, in ways that showcased a lot more than simple luck.

 

For a side lacking confidence, missing Pajor and Popp, Waßmuth could have scored a hattrick versus Chelsea lol; and this in a game Roord was meant to be the main forward, and looked great too...

 

Wasn’t sure if it was British arrogance that decided to go with an 3-back or just needed the extra player upfront to maintain high pressure, or just felt that WOB would just stay to short passing, grounded tactics, but the 3-back without defensive support from the 2 outside mids(as they didn’t seem like they played with FB’s) proved to be wrong

let’s not get ahead of ourselves; both Wassmuth’s goals came from ‘blind long balls’(yep, that same blind long balls that put Gold medals around Canadian shoulders! lol)

first goal; it’s either Oberdorf or Rauch that’s got the foresight to kick out of danger after being trapped by the high press/2nd goal as well booted from the back. Both don’t even land close to Wassmuth, rather she races over & steals it from whichever defenders & scores, Roord’s goal came about from pressuring Berger’s short pass. You could see Schult worried about the same thing as she decided to boot the ball on several occasions rather then keep it grounded.

WOB looked more vulnerable when wanting to maintain ball control via the CB’s higher up field in close support of mids shorter passing schemes….but which led to intercepted & easy, Kerr counter goal(this seems to be MVT’s problem too).

WOB will not be the team pushed back in most their matches, but it was nice to see them show a little variety in their game.

Wassmuth isn’t an set up player, she’s way better when she can use her individual smarts out there, as well if there’s a ton of space to work with. Just too many of these coaches force her into something that’s she not

any news on why Jule Brand wasn’t rostered for Hoffenheim’s game?

 

LOL... no. You watch Chelsea more than I do, and even I know their back 3 system is something they've being doing all season.

Plus it needs to be said, these two clubs also played each other last season, with Chelsea applying A LOT of the same tactical flaws still on show right now; over two games Wolfsburg's defensive errors really seemed to have overshadowed their otherwise overall mid-field domination.

So I know your admiration for English clubs playing high tempo kick and chase football... but with Chelsea having EVERYTHING in their favor going into this match, even them taking an early lead, their tactical flaws from last season still allowed Wolfsburg back into the match their inability to control tempo came into focus again.

 

Both goals came through her applying pressure to Chelsea's CB's though, but I'm not here to defend the goals, when I was actually highlighting how this changed Wolfsburg side had a tougher time against Freiburg's 3-4-3, than they did against Chelsea's 3-4-3 formation.

Beyond the opening 15 mins, Wolfsburg's central mid-field gradually shutting down a lot of Chelsea's threat through the middle; I feel like your being disingenuous if you dismiss how well Wolfsburg did here, in a game Waßmuth could have scored a hattrick, as they had to gamble Roord could be an impressive striker...

I mean.. over the course of the match, Chelsea were still the side who used more crossing, and played more long balls forward lol. And this with both Chelsea's second half goals resulting from chaotic scenarios, trying to force Wolfsburg defensive errors too..

 

.... The scenario your talking about only occurred in the opening 15 mins, where Wedemeyer changed from a RB role, to a CB role. Beyond that, when did Wolfsburg struggle to maintain control of the ball with their CB's...?

Kerr did very little after the early positional re-adjustments of Hendrich and Wedemeyer, with most of Chelsea's 1st half chances after that coming through their FB's getting into really advanced areas of the field. They couldn't find the same joy in the 2nd half, due to factors of tiredness, and Wolfsburg's improved confidence to pass the ball through it's CB's and mid-field.

Just look at how little Chelsea created in the 2nd half, versus how much more control Wolfsburg's mid-field had. If not for poor clearances inside their own box leading to the conceding of scrappy goals, it would have been a surprisingly comfortable/deserved victory for a weakened Wolfsburg side.