Salzburg 3 - 1 Wolfsburg: Okafor tames Wolfsburg

Red Bull Salzburg took a huge step towards reaching the UEFA Champions League knockout stages for the first time by beating Wolfsburg 3-1, with Noah Okafor’s second-half brace ensuring the Austrians will top Group G at the halfway stage as they maintained their unbeaten record in this term’s competition.

The hosts could not have got off to a better start, taking the lead inside two minutes as Karim Adeyemi nipped in ahead of Kevin Mbabu to latch onto a through ball before coolly slotting home. They should have doubled their advantage minutes later when Okafor clattered the bar after John Brooks misjudged a ball over the top and were made to pay when, against the run of play, Wolfsburg equalised through Lukas Nmecha’s header from a corner.

That seemed to settle things down as chances all but dried up. Renato Steffen had one, wildly firing wide from long range for the visitors, who were without top scorer Wout Weghorst following a positive coronavirus test, whilst Brenden Aaronson curled off-target and Koen Casteels superbly saved from Luka Sučić at the other end as the half ended all square.

Salzburg looked to rekindle their early momentum after the break, with Adeyemi close to grabbing his second when his imaginative flick was tipped over the bar. Sučić then had a goal-bound shot blocked before the hosts deservedly regained their lead after 64 minutes through Okafor, who hooked home from close range after reacting quickest to a loose ball.

That should have been enough to ensure the Swiss international was marked tightly whenever he was within shooting range, but ‘Die Wölfe’ did not learn their lesson. Shortly afterwards, Okafor again found space in the box and settled the tie when converting from Bernardo’s knockdown. It was no more than Matthias Jaissle’s side deserved as they moved on to seven points from three games, whilst Wolfsburg’s chances of reaching the last 32 are dwindling as they remain winless.