Bundesliga
Wolfsburg began their Bundesliga campaign with an impressive away win as substitute goals from Mattias Svanberg and Mohamed Amoura secured a 3-1 victory against Heidenheim at the Voith Arena.
Heidenheim 1-3 Wolfsburg
Goals: 0-1 Skov Olsen 20’ (assist: Wimmer), 1-1 Scienza 29’, 1-2 Svanberg 67’ (assist: Arnold), 1-3 Amoura pen. 87’
After a turbulent 2024/25 campaign, Heidenheim were looking to start their season on the front foot, but Wolfsburg, led by new head coach Paul Simonis, proved too much for last season's relegation play-off winners.
The match began with an early opportunity for Wolfsburg as Dženan Pejčinović, starting after his DFB Cup hat-trick, dragged a shot narrowly wide in the third minute.
Heidenheim goalkeeper Diant Ramaj was then perhaps fortunate to escape with just a yellow card after racing out and fouling Patrick Wimmer following a misplaced backpass.
The visitors took the lead in spectacular fashion after 20 minutes when Wimmer fed Andreas Skov Olsen, who curled a beautiful left-footed effort into the far corner from outside the box.
Heidenheim responded brilliantly, though, as Léo Scienza, won a free-kick and then converted it himself with a stunning strike that went in off the post to level the scores at 1-1.
The second half began with Maximilian Arnold – making his 450th competitive appearance for Wolfsburg – testing Ramaj with a fierce drive that the keeper parried away.
The contest remained evenly balanced until the introduction of Svanberg and Amoura for the visitors in the 64th minute. Just three minutes later, Svanberg made an immediate impact, rising to head home Arnold's pinpoint cross and restore Wolfsburg's lead.
The Wolves took firm control of proceedings from that point, with Heidenheim struggling to create clear opportunities.
The result was sealed in the 87th minute when Ramaj brought down Amoura in the box, and the Algerian substitute stepped up to convert the penalty himself, making it 3-1 and securing all three points for Simonis' side.
Despite ending on the losing side, Scienza was the standout performer at the Voith Arena.
The Brazilian midfielder not only scored a magnificent free-kick to bring Heidenheim level, but he was at the heart of everything positive for the hosts, particularly in the first half, where the visitors just couldn't get near him.
The statistics back up his influential display – he won 13 challenges (the most for Heidenheim), was pressed 16 times, and registered three shots.
His ability to win free-kicks in dangerous areas caused constant problems for the Wolfsburg defence, with several visitors picking up yellow cards for fouls on him.
Deservedly named Man of the Match with 29% of the votes, Scienza accumulated 290 Fantasy points – the highest of any player on the pitch.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Heidenheim 0.25 - Wolfsburg 2.52
Fastest player: Dženan Pejčinović (Wolfsburg), 34.31 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 0-1 by Andreas Skov Olsen (Wolfsburg), 2 per cent
Most pressed player: Patrick Wimmer (Wolfsburg), 18 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Vinicius Souza (Wolfsburg), +3.46
Fantasy Heroes: Léo Scienza (Heidenheim, 290 Points), Patrick Wimmer (Wolfsburg, 285 Points), Maximilian Arnold (Wolfsburg, 257 Points)