Wolfsburg (Germany) (AFP)
A match without a stake, an empty three-quarter stadium, and two B teams: spectators who saw Wolfsburg's victory over Saint-Etienne 1-0 Thursday in the Europa League will not keep an unforgettable memory of their evening!
Anxious to offer his managers a rest before the reception of Paris SG Sunday, Etienne Puel coach had changed ten players compared to the last match of Ligue 1 in Reims (3-1 defeat). Only Yann M'Vila retaining his place.
Jessy Moulin was in goal, instead of Stéphane Ruffier, and boys like Sergi Palencia, Assane Diousse, Jean-Eudes Aholou or Robert Beric, little used this season, had their chance from the kickoff.
Wolf coach Oliver Glasner did the same, changing the whole team since the last defeat in the Bundesliga (1-0 in Friborg), with the exception of one man, the central defender Marcel Weaver.
Wolfsburg was already qualified for the round of 16 of the competition, while the ASSE was already eliminated, and leaves the Europa League without any victory (4 draws, 3 losses) but with a 3rd place.
The "Greens", which evolved in gray, since green is also the color of Wolfsburg, have shown almost nothing on the offensive. More striking in the face of an experimental defense, the Germans got the best two chances in the first period: a shot on the post (14th) and a ball saved on the line by Palencia (43rd) after a deviation of Moulin.
But it was after the break that Wolfsburg made the difference, by Paulo Otavio (1-0, 52), following a loss of Romain Hamouma's ball in mid-play.
The best opportunity Saint-Etienne finally arrived in the 84th minute, when Arnaud Nordin forced the goalkeeper Wolfsburg to divert a powerful shot of twenty yards.
The corner gave nothing, and Wolfsburg handled the last minutes to prevent Saint-Etienne from coming back.
© 2019 AFP