A double from Daniel Ginczek helped Wolfsburg get their season back on track Sunday with a 4-2 win away at bottom club Paderborn.
Ginczek scored either side of half-time, his strikes bookended by goals from Robin Knoche and Maximilian Arnold to secure the victory. It was the Wolves’ first win in 2020, after losing their previous two matches since the winter break.
The home side opened the scoring through Ben Zolinski who scored his third of the campaign, turning the ball in from a corner in the 22nd minute.
Wolfsburg hit back just five minutes later through Knoche who headed a lofted free-kick into the bottom corner of the net.
Paderborn’s task grew more difficult in the 33rd minute when Gerrit Holtmann was shown a red card after an altercation with Renato Steffen near the touchline.
The decision stood after a VAR check and Ginczek scored just seven minutes later to give Wolfsburg the lead.
With Wolfsburg dominant after the break, Ginczek added a second to make the score 3-1 and chalk up his first double in the Bundesliga since 2018.
Paderborn midfielder Sebastian Vasiliadis gave the 10-man outfit a glimmer of hope in the 72nd minute with a stunning goal from well outside the box.
It would only remain 3-2 for four minutes however, with Arnold putting the result beyond doubt with a superb curling free-kick.
Wolfsburg coach Oliver Glasner paid credit to the opposition, suggesting they are a better side than their table position suggests.
“Here in Paderborn you are never really through, they’ve shown that so often,” he said.
“To come back after being behind and score four goals, full compliments to the boys.”
Paderborn coach Steffen Baumgart laid the blame at the feet of his own side.
“You have to say that in the decisive moments we made mistakes that you are not allowed to make.”
Home comforts
Earlier on Sunday, Colombian forward Jhon Cordoba scored for the sixth home game in a row as Cologne hammered Freiburg 4-0.
Cordoba’s 55th-minute strike saw him become the first Cologne player since Klaus Allofs in 1984 to achieve the feat.
He now has seven goals for the campaign, all of which have been scored in his past six home matches.
Defender Sebastiaan Bornauw opened the scoring for Cologne in the 29th minute, and Cordoba added the second after Alexander Schwolow parried the ball in his direction.
Kingsley Ehizibue and Ismail Jakobs both struck in second-half injury time to round out a convincing win.
The victory saw Cologne continue a remarkable run of form under new coach Markus Gisdol. Taking over with Cologne on the bottom of the table with seven points from 11 matches, under Gisdol Cologne have now picked up 16 points in nine matches.
Gisdol praised his side’s “mature achievement”.
“We had a lot of respect for Freiburg, which was appropriate,” he said.
“We stuck to our plan and did not deviate from it at any stage.”
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