Wolfsburg’s continued plummet down the league has led to genuine fears they could finish bottom this season
When Bruno Labbadia arrives in a new post, it’s with a certain label attached– that of relegation battle specialist, and it’s one well-earned in successful fights against the drop at Stuttgart and Hamburg. If there’s a bright side to be looked upon after a tough couple of opening weeks at Wolfsburg, with one point taken from his opening four games in charge, it’s that he has the perfect situation in which to fulfil that reputation.
Saturday’s heartbreaking late defeat to high-flying Schalke, sealed by Robin Knoche’s unfortunate 86th-minute own goal, was hardly deserved but the result is very much the bottom line in Wolfsburg’s current state. “We wanted to close the spaces for them, to be compact, and we did a good job of succeeding,” said Labbadia. “The only thing that didn’t work is the result, and so we can’t take anything from the performance, but we have to build on what we showed today.”
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