wolfsburg off and running with krasnodar win published: thursday 23 october 2014, 19.50cet fc krasnodar 2-4 vfl wolfsburg andreas granqvist scored at both ends, kevin de bruyne got a couple and luiz gustavo hit a sumptuous effort as the visitors claimed victory.
• wolfsburg climb above krasnodar and up to second in group h • the russian side's four-match unbeaten home run in europe ends • krasnodar captain andreas granqvist scores in both goals • kevin de bruyne makes it 2-0 39 seconds into the second half • next game: wolfsburg v krasnodar (6 november)
vfl wolfsburg breathed life into their faltering uefa europa league campaign with a clinical performance against fc krasnodar.
restricted to a point from their first two group h outings, the german team looked set for more disappointment amid concerted first-half pressure. ınstead, andreas granqvist's own goal before the interval and kevin de bruyne's first of the night 39 seconds into the second period set them on course for a 4-2 win. krasnodar rallied, with granqvist scoring from the spot, but a stunning luiz gustavo effort effectively sealed their fate.
krasnodar will wonder how it came to this after dominating much of the first hour. odil ahmedov was all clever passing and shrewd vision in midfield, supplying balls for the marauding ari to feed off. the brazilian devoured it all, attracting and dispatching defenders before laying off to team-mates – but mauricio pereyra and ricardo laborde in particular could not capitalise.
the russian side were made to pay eight minutes before the break when granqvist put through his own net under pressure from ıvica olić after andriy dykan could only parry de bruyne's low drive. ari could have equalised moments before half-time; he did not, and moments after it de bruyne made it 2-0, racing onto naldo's ball down the line and firing in.
to their credit, krasnodar quickly pulled one back through granqvist after naldo was adjudged to have handled, yet there was no answer to luiz gustavo's wonderful strike just after the hour. de bruyne added another on the counterattack ten minutes from time, even if wanderson's late reply made the scoreline kinder.
