IANS
WOLFSBURG, MARCH 9
German football club VFL Wolfsburg progressed into the quarter-finals after edging Gent 4-2 on aggregate at the second leg of Champions League’s last-16 match.
The “Wolves” booked their first ever ticket for the round of the last-eight in Europe’s elite competition, as Andre Schuerrle scored the only goal of the match to see off Belgian outfit Gent 1-0 on home soil in the second leg match on Tuesday. They won the first leg 3-2 earlier, reports Xinhua.
Gent started highly motivated after suffering a 2-3 first-leg loss and created the first chance, as Danijel Milicevic pulled wide from promising position.
As the match progressed, Wolfsburg gained control and worked out opportunities through Max Kruse, who missed the goal from inside the box in the 13th minute before Joshua Guilavogui’s shot from 18 metres forced Gent custodian Matz Sels to palm the shot away five minutes later.
The visitors remained dangerous on fast breaks though as Moses Daddy Simon tested the “Wolves” goalkeeper Koen Casteels with a curl in the 23rd minute.
Wolfsburg increased the pressure meanwhile the visitors kept all their men behind the ball.
The hosts turned their dominance into a goal with 16 minutes remaining after Andre Schuerrle poked home the opener following Julian Draxler’s build up and square pass. Wolfsburg’s goal took the wind out of Gent’s sails as they were in need of three goals to progress.
“That’s sensational that we have earned the first quarterfinal place in the club’s history. At the beginning of the campaign we did not even think of an achievement like this. However, it was a strange game as we played too cautiously,” Wolfsburg’s sporting director Klaus Allofs said after he match.
Goal scorer Schuerrle added: “It was a hard earned second leg for us. We focussed on our defence but lurked for our chances. It was a deserved victory in the end.”
