VAR denies Wolfsburg chance of going top; Leverkusen held

Berlin: A late VAR intervention cost Wolfsburg the chance to go top of the Bundesliga on Sunday, with Joao Victor’s 84th-minute goal disallowed in a goalless draw against Augsburg.

Wolfsburg celebrated what they thought was a victory after Tin Jedvaj’s cross was tapped home by Victor before referee Tobias Stieler overturned the strike for offside.  The visitors started on top, dominating the first period.

Augsburg striker Florian Niederlechner had a number of chances, going close in the 17th minute with a close range shot.

Niederlechner had another chance to open the scoring in the 50th minute, but again failed to convert.

Brazilian defender William was the home side’s best player, probing and asking constant questions of the Augsburg defence.

It was a rare offensive stalemate for Wolfsburg, who had scored in every Bundesliga game so far this season. They are now third, level on 17 points with Freiburg.

Wolfsburg remain the Bundesliga’s only unbeaten side, while Augsburg finish the weekend in 17th after chalking up their fourth draw of the season.

The stalemate highlighted the congested nature of the 2019-20 Bundesliga campaign, with only four points separating leaders Bayern Munich from 10th-placed Hoffenheim.

On Saturday night, Bayer Leverkusen missed the chance to go third when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Werder Bremen as Lucas Alario grabbed the second-half equaliser for the hosts.

Bremen substitute Benjamin Goller’s cross was blocked by the falling Nadiem Amiri’s arm in injury time as the Leverkusen midfielder slid in to challenge in the penalty area. However, despite VAR checks, no penalty was awarded.

Bottom side Paderborn earned their first win this season as defender Sebastian Schonlau and midfielder Abdelhamid Sabiri scored in a 2-0 win at home to Fortuna Duesseldorf.

Mid-table Hoffenheim earned their third straight success, having beaten Bayern and Schalke, with Benjamin Huebner scoring late in their 3-2 win at Hertha Berlin.

Robert Lewandowski made yet more history on Saturday by netting in Bayern Munich’s 2-1 home win against Union Berlin, which sent the defending champions back to the top of the Bundesliga table by a point.

The Poland striker showed clinical finishing to tuck away an Alphonso Davies second-half pass at the Allianz Arena and claim his 13th league goal and set a new record for scoring in the first nine Bundesliga games of the season.

Agencies