VfL Wolfsburg's start to the rückrunde was done in the worst possible style; losing the derby to Hannover. Artjoms Rudnevs opened the scoring after finding himself one on one with Diego Benaglio to dink the ball over the Swiss goalkeeper. Ivica Olic levelled the scores for Die Wölfe with his fair share of fortune. Maxi Arnold's long range drive could only be parried by Ron-Robert Zieler, leaving Olic with an open net. However, Hannover soon went on to score again twice, both goals coming from Leonardo Bittencourt. It was a day to forget for the home side.
The big news surrounding this derby was the debuts. Without question, Kevin De Bruyne's debut was eagerly anticipated by many. The Belgian made his first start for Wolfsburg since his €20m move from Chelsea a few weeks ago. It was a steady debut for the Belgian at most, nothing spectacular. He had made a few good passes and runs within the first half, but he went off the boil in the second half. However, he linked well with Diego when cutting inside from his position on the right of midfield, which bodes well for Wolfsburg this season. It was also a debut for Artjoms Rudnevs, who capped it with a clever finish for the opening goal. Besides the goal, he too was quiet, as it was Mame Diouf who was the more active of the pair, as expected. It was also a debut for Hannover's new coach, Tayfun Korkut, who marked it with a win.
A frantic start from Hannover was soon matched by equal pressure from VfL Wolfsburg. Both sides pushed up the field but neither could apply the magic touch of shooting on target, or opening the scoring. The best chance in the opening ten minutes came from Diego; who's intelligent spin, run at the defence and shot from distance went just past Zieler's far post. Wolfsburg continuted to press and looked the more threatening of the sides with potency in attack. Their intent to push forward was evident, with Diego, Arnold and De Bruyne all wanting possession and looking to make something happen. Wolfsburg's next best chance came from a set-piece, where Naldo's powerful strike was deflected goalbound, before Zieler's impressive reflexes denied an opening goal from occuring. Zieler then kept out a curling effort from Diego which was destined for the top corner. The young German shot-stopper had an excellent game for Die Roten.
Arguably against the run of play, Hannover opened the scoring. Diouf's superb ability to hold-up the ball was on display, before his deft flick through the split Naldo and Robin Knoche sent Rudnevs charging towards Benaglio's goal. Rudnevs, who isn't blessed with pace by any means, was quick enough to get on the end of Diouf's ball and dink over the advancing Wolfsburg captain, Diego Benaglio. It was an excellent finish from Rudnevs; who fell out of favour at Hamburg and could breathe fire into Hannover's campaign, should he find his feet.
Wolfsburg refused to let Hannover's goal rock them. They kept pressing and looking to equalise. A training ground routine from Rodriguez' corner teed up Kevin De Bruyne, who struck his shot into a sea of Hannover bodies still regrouping from the corner. Rodriguez, who was once again one of Die Wölfe's main sources of creativity, played an inch perfect pass to Ivica Olic, who narrowly missed the target. Olic soon made amends as Wolfsburg were rewarded for their efforts. Maxi Arnold's strike from distance could only be parried into the danger zone by Zieler, resulting in Olic's perfectly timed run allowing him to tap in the leveller. Relief for Wolfsburg. This sent both sides into the interval with a goal each; setting up a lot to be contested in the second-half.
The second half soon saw Wolfsburg continue to press with little reward for their efforts. Hannover, however, showed more intent in attacking in the second period - contrasting their approach in the first-half. A freekick conceded by Luiz Gustavo almost saw Szabolcs Huszti put Hannover ahead, but it curled fractions wide of the upright. It would have been a spectacular goal from a man who's renown for being deadly with his set-pieces. It wasn't long until Hannover had the upper hand over Wolfsburg again, as Leonardo Bittencourt scored the all important goal. An effort from his left peg, from yet more questionable defending from Wolfsburg's high-line, soon arrived in it's final destination: the bottom right corner of Benaglio's goal. The shot-stopper was left picking the ball out of his own net once more at no fault of his own. Hannover soon gained the mental advantage also, as they held firm and kept their belief - halting Wolfsburg in each attack. The home side could not find a way through and were falling apart in Hannover's final third; something which had proven costly in Hannover's fast-paced counter attacking goals.
It wasn't long again until another goal was scored. Bittencourt had struck his brace with a thunderous shot, again from his weaker left foot, which found it's way into the net. The all decisive goal proved enough to secure Hannover's victory in the Lower Saxony derby (yet again). Overall, it was a well deserved victory for Die Roten. They ended their wretched curse of losing all nine away games this term in the sweetest way possible, much to the clubs delight. A huge result for the club and their new boss, who can look to progress in the rückrunde, after a disappointing hinrunde under Mirko Slomka (who was in the stands). Die Roten gave their geographical rivals a wake-up call, for certain.
Meanwhile for Wolfsburg, it's a disappointing result to restart the Bundesliga. They've missed an opportunity that may not occur again this term; levelling Gladbach on points and enhancing their Champions League qualification chances. The result this afternoon could prove costly towards the end of the season for Die Wölfe. However, once the similar defeat to Eintracht Braunschweig was out of the way, Wolfsburg's form and confidence improved drastically. Dieter Hecking will be hoping his team can replicate similar displays and maintain their position nearer the European slots.
Final score: VfL Wolfsburg 1 Hannover 3