Wolfsburg vs Everton: Everton top Group H in free-flowing game
At the Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg and Everton faced off in a lively and free-flowing game of football. Many thought previous to the match that is game would be more of a contest, compared to the 4-1 win over Wolfsburg by Everton in September. In the early stages of the game, Wolfsburg looked sharp and dominant, with Ivan Perisic putting in dangerous near Everton's goal. Wolfsburg had only lost one of their last ten games, prior to this Europa league contest, and this was shown by pressing high up the pitch and focusing Mirallas to stay out wide. Perisic thought he'd taken the lead on 20 minutes but the linesman on the far side ruled him offside from when ex-Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner played in a cheeky back heel. Shortly afterwards, James McCarthy was forced off with the hamstring injury that has caused tension between Roy Keane and Roberto Martinez in recent weeks. The game continued to have an attacking flow and Everton counter attacked superbly off a Wolfsburg corner on 43 minutes. Mirallas flicked on a lovely pass to Lukaku, who ran towards goal uneasily, and struck the ball calmly into the Wolfsburg goal. Against the balance of play, Everton looking in prime position to top the group.
Halftime brought good news for Everton, as Krasnodar against Lille had finished 1-1 meaning that the Toffees would qualify for the round of 32 no matter what the result against Wolfsburg. The game continued to have a huge physical energy about it, with Everton and Wolfsburg really abandoning their defensive priories at times to pursue a goal. Bendtner thought he'd clinched his 4th goal of the season for Wolfsburg but was denied by the offside flag. Everton kept going strong, both defensively and offensively, and were rewarded when Lukaku played in Mirallas to wrong-foot the trailing defender and score to confirm Everton as group winners. Wolfsburg may feel some injustice with the decisions but ultimately they didn't make it count when it mattered. As for Everton, many fans will be thrilled with being unbeaten in Europe and at the chance to again show off what they can do on Europe's second biggest stage.
My man of the match: Muhammad Besic
Lukaku runs away to celebrate his 43rd minute strike with the travelling Everton fans. This was his first European goal since October 2010, when he scored for Anderlecht.
No comments:
Post a Comment