Wolfsburg beat Hoffenheim to boost European hopes

Hoffenheim 1-4 Wolfsburg
Goals: 1-0 Szalai (9'), 1-1 William (42'), 1-2 Weghorst (69'), 3-1 Arnold (85'), 4-1 Weghorst (88')

There was a frenetic opening at the PreZone Arena as the teams sought to lay down an early marker, with chances at both ends in the opening exchanges. Felix Klaus and Ishak Belfodil had both hit the crossbar by the time Hoffenheim took the lead in the eighth minute when Adam Szalai flicked in Nico Schulz's cross from close range. Andrej Kramaric had the chance to double Hoffenheim's lead from the penalty spot, but his miss – the ball struck the outside of the post – proved costly as Wolfsburg grew into the game. Admir Mehmedi and Robin Knoche both went close before William curled in a stunning equaliser from the edge of the box to leave the teams level at the break.

If the first half was played at breakneck speed, the second was rather more pedestrian as both teams tightened up their defences. Pavel Kaderabek had the first clear opening but couldn't quite reach Szalai's cross, while Josuha Guilavogui got the ball trapped under his feet when stretching to reach Mehmedi's ball into the middle. It appeared as if the game was heading for a draw until William looped in a cross from the right and found Weghorst at the back post. The Dutch forward managed to get a header on target that squeezed past Oliver Baumann at his near post and over the line. With Hoffenheim pushing for an equaliser late on, Wolfsburg added two more on the counter-attack, with Maximilian Arnold smashing in at the near post before teeing up Weghorst to complete an unlikely victory.

• Wolfsburg defender Sebastian Jung made his first appearance of the season here and first in over a year, since playing against Bayern Munich in February 2018.
• Szalai scored his sixth goal of the season, one more than he managed in 2017/18.
• Kramaric missed a penalty for just the second time in the Bundesliga, having scored each of his previous 12 attempts. His record now stands at 13 goals from 15 spot-kicks, with his last miss on 30 April 2016 against Ingolstadt.
• Schalke are the only team to have been awarded more penalties (eight) in the Bundesliga this season than Hoffenheim (seven).
• William netted his second goal of the season, the 10th scored by a Wolfsburg defender in 2018/19. No other team's defenders have found the target as often this term.
• Weghorst scored his 13th and 14th goals (and third header) of the season here.

Hoffenheim: Baumann – Bicakcic (Nelson 73'), Vogt (c), Adams – Kaderabek, Amiri (Bittencourt 56'), Grillitsch, Schulz – Kramaric – Belfodil, Szalai
Unused subs: Stolz, Brenet, Rupp, Hübner, Posch
Out: Demirbay (suspended), Joelinton (ankle)
Coach: Julian Nagelsmann

Wolfsburg: Pervan – Jung (Steffen 57'), Knoche, Tisserand, William – Gerhardt, Guilavogui (c), Arnold – Mehmedi (Malli 84') – Klaus (Rexhbecaj 78'), Weghorst
Unused subs: Menzel, Brekalo, Franke, Yeboah
Out: Brooks (knee), Camacho (ankle), Casteels (thigh), Ginczek (back), Roussillon (muscular), Uduokhai (unspecified), Verhaegh (rib)
Coach: Bruno Labbadia