Wolfsburg and Mainz draw blank

In a game with limited scoring opportunities, VfL Wolfsburg and 1. FSV Mainz 05 played out a goalless draw at the Volkswagen Arena yesterday afternoon.

The Wolves were looking for their first win since the opening day of the season and dominated the early stages.

Dieter Hecking’s charges thought they had broken the deadlock early on when Julian Draxler found the net, only to see the goal ruled out for offside.

In the main, Wolfsburg were restricted to long-range attempts with both Ricardo Rodriguez and Jakub Blaszczykowski stinging the gloves of Mainz keeper Jonas Lössl.

Mainz were compact in defence, looking to hit their hosts on the break.

However, the goalless scoreline was a fair reflection of the game at the break.

Having finally shaken off the fatigue following their Europa League adventure in Azerbaijan on Thursday, Mainz started the second half brightly and counterattacked with verve.

On the hour mark, Yunus Malli went close with a neat shimmy and shot from the edge of the box.

A short while later Giulio Donati came to the visitors’ rescue, clearing off the line after Draxler had rounded the keeper.

Goalmouth action was few and far between after that as both teams looked content to settle for the point.

No one player stood out but Mainz keeper Tobias Lössl dealt well with everything that came his way, frustrating the Wolfsburg attack.

Wolfsburg have not won since Matchday 1 and are still searching for their first victory on home soil this season.

Big name players such as Mario Gomez and Julian Draxler need to find their best form if the Wolves are to finally kickstart their campaign.

Wolfsburg are unbeaten in their last four home games against Mainz.

Mainz had scored and conceded in every game so far this season before this match.

GERMANY Bundesliga

Yesterday Wolfsburg-Mainz ............................. 0-0 Schalke-B. Monchengladbach .......... 4-0

Standings

Bayern Munich Hertha Berlin Dortmund 1. FC Koln RB Leipzig B. Leverkusen Hoffenheim E. Frankfurt B. M’gladbach Freiburg Mainz Augsburg Wolfsburg Darmstadt SV W. Bremen Schalke Ingolstadt Hamburger SV 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 3 1 4 1 1 0 2 1 3 2 1 0 1 1 0 16 2 1 11 7 2 16 6 0 10 3 0 11 5 2 10 7 0 11 9 2 8 6 2 10 10 3 7 9 2 12 11 3 5 8 2 4 7 3 4 12 4 7 17 5 6 10 5 3 12 5 2 12 16 13 12 12 12 10 10 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 1 1