Despite Wolfsburg dominating possession and chances, it was the grit and determination from Everton that seen them run out 0-2 winners. Romelu Lukaku was instrumental, as he put the visitors in front and set-up Kevin Mirallas for the clinching goal. The side from Lower Saxony had their chances and had Ivan Perisic's perfectly good goal been allowed, it could have been an entirely different story. Nevertheless, it was an entirely professional away performance that sees Everton into the round of thirty-two.
Dieter Hecking made four changes to the side that were put to the sword by Schalke on Saturday. Ricardo Rodriguez and Joshua Guilavogui were both injured, while Christian Träsch was taken out of the starting eleven after a poor showing at the weekend. Marcel Schäfer and Junior Malanda replaced Rodriguez and Guilavogui, with Aaron Hunt taking Träsch's place. The final alteration saw Ivica Olic drop to the bench for Niklas Bendtner.
As for Everton, they were buoyed by a 2-1 win over on-form West Ham United. Seamus Coleman, Leon Osman, Ross Barkley and Steven Naismith were dropped from the starting eleven, as Roberto Martinez matched his opposite number with four changes. Luke Garbutt, Muhamed Besic, Aiden McGeady and Samuel Eto'o were the replacements, respectively.
In the opening stages, the hosts were the team on top. Ivan Perisic started like a house on fire, but his header and sliding effort couldn't force a save from Tim Howard. The Wolves were quickly reminded of Everton's attacking ability, when Samuel Eto'o shot wide and then Sylvain Distin struck the bar. It was a remarkably open first quarter of an hour.
Aaron Hunt, who nabbed a brace in the last Europa League outing, was denied by some fine defending and then a super stop from Howard. Perisic finally did have the ball in the back of the net, third time lucky, though the tables turned when he was ruled offside. Niklas Bendtner's flick-on was met by the Croatian international, who simply tapped the ball past the helpless Howard, only for replays to then show that he was in fact onside.
The visitors were continuing to struggle with Wolfsburg's start-studded front line and were spared by the referee a second time, when Fernando Teixeira Vitienes blew up a promising counter for James McCarthy's injury. The Irishman was immediately replaced by Leon Osman, with a hamstring problem looking to be the cause of his pain. Despite further pressure from Marcel Schäfer and his excellent crossing, Wolfsburg couldn't force a way through. Even when Kevin de Bruyne sparked into life, Phil Jagielka was there to make a fantastic block.
Unfortunately for the hosts, Everton dealt them a hammer blow just before half-time. Just three passes, following a Wolfsburg corner, found Romelu Lukaku on the half-way line. The Belgian powerhouse pushed past a helpless Junior Malanda and kept his cool to fire past Diego Benaglio. It was the perfect counter and had the Toffees on top after forty-five minutes, something which Hecking would have been livid about, especially with the fantastic first-half his team had played.
Wolfsburg continued to apply pressure after the re-start and Bendtner was denied his third Europa League goal in two games when his tap-in was flagged for offside. This time, the linesman got the call correct. Everton almost scored a second smash-and-grab goal, but Aiden McGeady couldn't finish with the goal wide open in front of him. Naldo and the Wolfsburg front-line were causing plenty of problems from set-pieces, mainly due to their creativity, but the visiting back-line held firm.
Howard was proving to be the difference, as the American goalkeeper was in no mood to let his clean sheet slip. It was a marvelous save from Schäfer's swerving shot that was massively important, as Everton capitalised moments later. A long clearance forward found Lukaku, the striker spun his man and drove inside. He sent his fellow countryman Kevin Mirallas racing through with an inch-perfect reverse pass, leaving Mirallas to beat Luiz Gustavo and slot into the bottom corner.
The hosts refused to give up, as veteran forward Ivica Olic went close on two occasions, but it was a lost cause and Everton prevailed to qualify from their group as winners with a game to spare. Lille and Krasnodar finished all square in the group's other game, which meant that Wolfsburg sat three points clear of the French side. The Wolves travel to Lille with a superior goal difference and know that a draw will be enough to see them through, while group winners Everton can afford to take things easy at home to the Russian outfit.