Wolves stay unbeaten with draw against Augsburg

Wolfsburg 0-0 Augsburg

Wolfsburg recorded their biggest-ever Bundesliga win – and Augsburg’s heaviest-ever defeat – with an 8-1 thrashing when the teams last met and the end of last season and this was a similarly open, end-to-end affair. William had the first chance of the game as early as the third minute, but could not direct his free header past Tomas Koubek. It set the tone for the rest of the half, though, and Felix Klaus soon had two one-on-one opportunities to give the Wolves lead, but was denied by the Augsburg goalkeeper each time. At the other end of the pitch, Pavao Pervan was also called into action to make to excellent stops to keep out presentable chances from Ruben Vargas and Florian Niederlechner, ensuring the sides went in level at the interval.

The teams tightened things up at the back in the second period and the clear-cut openings from the first 45 minutes appeared to have dried up. Niederlechner miscued an attempt at goal following good work from Vargas as Wolfsburg kept their visitors at arm’s length. The home team didn’t have much luck of their own in the final third either though, with Jeffrey Bruma heading off target from a corner and William dragging a speculative shot from distance wide of the post. Both sides made attacking substitutions as the final whistle approached, and Joao Victor – who scored his first goal for the Wolves in the UEFA Europa League during the week – thought he’d snatched a late winner, only for referee Tobias Stieler to rule it out for offside after consulting VAR. As such, Wolfsburg continued their unbeaten start to the season, even if they will likely be disappointed not to have taken all three points against a struggling Augsburg side.

• USA international John Brooks made his comeback from injury in this game. He had not played a competitive match since the 1-1 draw against Paderborn on Matchday 3 (on 31 August).
• Augsburg captain Daniel Baier likewise made his return from injury, having also been out of action since Matchday 3.
• Wolfsburg midfielder Maximilian Arnold played in the Wolves' first 12 competitive games this season, but was rested here for the first time in 18 months. He had only not started one of the team's previous 50 games (through suspension).
• This was the first time this season that the Wolves failed to score, while Augsburg kept their first clean sheet of 2019/20.
• Wolfsburg are still the only unbeaten team in the Bundesliga, but have now drawn more games than they have won (five to four).

Watch: Finnbogason: "We have to look at the positives"

Wolfsburg: Pervan – Bruma, Brooks, Tisserand – William, Guilavogui (c), Gerhardt (Arnold 83'), Roussillon – Klaus (Victor 60'), Weghorst, Brekalo (Nmecha 71')
Unused subs: Menzel, Steffen, Malli, Mbabu, Knoche, Rexhbecaj
Out: Camacho (ankle), Ginczek (back), Mehmedi (thigh), Schlager (broken ankle), Casteels (match fitness)
Coach: Oliver Glasner

Augsburg: Koubek – Lichtsteiner, Jedvaj, Uduokhai, Max – Richter, Baier (Gouweleeuw 83'), Khedira, Vargas (Iago 71') – Niederlechner, Finnbogason (Cordova 77')
Unused subs: Luthe, Gregoritsch, Moravek, Schieber, Hahn, Framberger
Out: Götze (hip), Gruezo (ankle), Oxford (ill), Pedersen (knock), Suchy (match fitness)
Coach: Martin Schmidt