Wolfsburg start strong with three goals and three points | OneFootball

VfL Wolfsburg opened their 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign with a trip to the state of Baden-Württemberg, facing 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 at the Voith-Arena on Saturday afternoon.

For Wolfsburg coach Paul Simonis, it was his debut match in the Bundesliga after being hired in June; in the media conference on Thursday, he stated that he felt “a little bit nervous” but also “excited” about the matchup. As for Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt, it was a completely different story, entering his nineteenth season and continuing the longest tenure of a current Bundesliga coach; he came into this match with higher expectations for his squad than what has been projected for them by analysts, stating that the club knew from last season that they “made mistakes, and we have learned from them”.

Both Aaron Zehnter and Vinícius Souza made their Bundesliga debuts as starters for VfL Wolfsburg; Zehnter arrived from FC Augsburg in the offseason, signing a five-year contract with Die Wölfe, while Souza entered from Sheffield United FC on a €15 million transfer fee, also signing a five-year deal.

The hosts kicked off the match, but the visitors had the first chance in the second minute; Patrick Wimmer's cross from the left side of the Heidenheim third was blocked, but almost instantly recovered by Zehnter; the 20-year-old left-back found 20-year-old forward Dženan Pejčinović, but the latter skewed the opportunity just wide of the right post.

Two minutes later, Diant Ramaj charged well out of his net to meet a wayward pass from Tim Siersleben; Wimmer pressured him and was immediately slide tackled, with Ramaj unable to win possession back. Referee Benjamin Brand immediately went to his pocket to hand Ramaj a yellow, with no upgrade to a red after a brief VAR check.

In the eleventh minute, Wolfsburg won a free kick, swung in by captain Maximilian Arnold with a strong left-footed cross; Souza was the recipient of it, but could not direct the ball into the top-right corner with his powerful header.

Wimmer, under pressure from three Heidenheim defenders, passed to his right, in the direction of Andreas Skov Olsen; with his left foot, the Danish international sent a curling shot past a leaping Ramaj and directly into the top-left corner for Wolfsburg's first goal of the season.

Wolfsburg gave Heidenheim a decent opportunity in the minutes that followed, however, and the hosts would take advantage. Souza clipped Léo Scienza in the twenty-seventh minute of the match; Scienza's ensuing right-footed free kick would go past a helpless Kamil Grabara and into the top-right corner to draw the hosts level.

The hosts had another close chance in the thirty-fourth minute, as a cross from Siersleben reached the edge of the goal area; neither Budu Zivivadze nor Jan Schöppner could direct it towards the bottom-left corner and it bounced out for a goal kick. Skov Olsen would create a dangerous chance for Wolfsburg on the counter that followed, finding Pejčinović; however, a header from the latter in the centre of the box was powered just over the bar.

Wimmer was constantly pressuring the Heidenheim back line throughout the first half, and had a second chance to score in the thirty-seventh minute; a failed pass back from Schöppner landed to the Austrian international, who, in alone, tried to lob the ball above Ramaj - Ramaj would track it, however, getting in front and blocking the attempt with his chest. Wimmer would set up another chance in Skov Olsen's direction, but Siersleben ran in with a clean sliding tackle to prevent the net-front opportunity from reaching the Dane.

Heidenheim shifted the momentum in the fortieth minute, and Léo Scienza drew two yellow cards in the process, going down on both; Moritz Jenz and Maximilian Arnold both committed sliding tackles and went into the book as a result. These would be the last notable plays of the first half, as both teams went into the locker rooms with the scores level at one apiece.

At the break, Wolfsburg led the shots category 9-5, but tied 2-2 on target. Possession went 51% to Heidenheim, with pass accuracy equal at 82% (Heidenheim on 193 passes, Wolfsburg on 192). It was a very even match statistically.

The visitors kicked off the second half, maintaining 72% possession on 77 passes in the first ten minutes but only generating one notable chance, a long-range shot from Arnold that was pawed away by Ramaj. Souza had the second chance for Wolfsburg just after the sixty-minute mark, but his half-volley was blasted well above Ramaj and out for a goal kick to the hosts.

With Jonas Föhrenbach having gone down with an injury at the hour mark, it forced Frank Schmidt to make a double change for his side; Paul Simonis also took the opportunity to make a double change, with Majer and Pejčinović leaving - Mattias Svanberg and Mohamed Amoura would enter in their places in the central attacking midfield and striker positions.

The first substitution would make a major impact, and it did not take long. Zehnter sent a ground pass to the left edge of the Heidenhem penalty area, where Arnold was placed. With his left foot, the 31-year-old German defensive midfielder, making appearance number 250 for the club, found Svanberg, whose header was directed past Ramaj and into the bottom-right corner to put the visitors in front. For Svanberg, it was the second consecutive weekend in which he scored just two minutes after being brought on.

Mohamed Amoura latched onto a through ball from Patrick Wimmer in the eighty-fourth minute, ultimately running into a one-on-one situation; Ramaj swiped the left boot of the 25-year-old Algerian international, leading to no other decision but a penalty for the visitors. Ramaj guessed the correct way on Amoura's spot kick, but Wolfsburg's top scorer in the 2024/25 campaign lifted it above the the 23-year-old Stuttgart-born goalkeeper to confirm three points for the visitors on matchday one.

Benjamin Brand would call time on the match a few minutes later, as VfL Wolfsburg start the 2025/26 Bundesliga season with three goals and three points. With 29% of the fan vote, Léo Scienza was named the man of the match.

1 FC Heidenheim 1846 will be visiting the Red Bull Arena to take on an RB Leipzig side that lost miserably in their opener, 0-6 to FC Bayern München yesterday evening. That match will take place next Saturday at 15.30 CET. As for VfL Wolfsburg, they will play their first home match of the season next Sunday (15.30 CET), facing 1. FSV Mainz at the Volkswagen Arena.