A VfL Wolfsburg side sans Andrea Barzagli in defense and Grafite in attack was looking to wrestle at least an away goal from Rubin Kazan without conceding too much ground to their hosts. And that is exactly what took place after a beautifully taken sixty-seventh minute strike from Zvjezdan Misimovic helped the Germans obtain a strong advantage in their Europa League tie.
Rubin was rather thin in both midfield and defense. Sergey Semak was unavailable due to a yellow-card suspension and Aleksandr Ryzantzev is still out with an ankle injury. In defense Vitaly Kaleshin and Roman Sharonov were unavailable, leaving Berdiýew no choice but to play Lasha Salukvadze at right-back and Aleksandr Orekhov in the center.
The chilly Kazan atmosphere imposed itself early on. Both clubs played conservatively, hampered now doubt by the poor tundra of the pitch. Neither club were willing—or perhaps able–to maintain possession, issuing long balls that kept the game from really flowing.
Edin Džeko register the first shot of the match nine minutes in, forcing Sergey Ryzhikov to block it out of play. The subsequent corner was converted into a counterattack for Rubin, with Gökdeniz Karadeniz making a nifty move past Marcel Schäfer to set up a cross that went just beyond the reach of his compatriot Hasan Kabze.
The promising move forward initiated a strong few minutes from the home side, seemingly warming to the task. A Christian Noboa free kick set up the club’s first excellent chance on goal but Orekhov, up from defense, missed connecting on a point-blank shot by a matter of inches. Left-winger Alan Kasaev got into the act soon thereafter, sending a twenty-four yard shot sailing over the bar.
The Rubin momentum also had the unfortunate effect of opening them up at the back, which Wolfsburg almost took advantage of. A Misimovic cross from the right side slipped out of Ryzhikov’s hands, falling to Obafemi Martins a mere twelve yards from goal for the German side’s best chance of the half. The forward poorly struck the ball, however, and it went well off the mark. For the Rubin goalkeeper it marked the first of several questionable plays, as he looked anxious and unsure of his position (even once dangerously crashing into César Navas).
But the scare at least pushed Rubin further out of their shell, as they looked ready to launch more than counterattacks. And the offensive interest paid off quickly, thanks in large measure to some great work from Cristian Ansaldi, who– at the half-hour–weaved his way around Martins just outside the box to loft a cross toward the far post. Kabze met the ball with skill, hopefully heading it back into the middle. Fortuitously, Noboa was there to head it past Marwin Hitz to give Rubin the lead.
The pressure kept coming from Rubin; two minutes later Karadeniz burst through the middle and slid a nice pass wide to his right toward an open Aleksandr Bukharov. But the big forward, perhaps still effected by an early blow to the nose, sent too direct of a shot and Hitz comfortably saved. It would be the first of several fatally missed opportunities from the striker.
Ryzhikov once again anxiously misplayed a cross, this time down the left side. The ball skipped to Peter Pekarík—but thankfully for Rubin the shot was poor.
The last ten minutes of the half saw some solid open play from both squads. Wolfsburg continued to look for ways around the Rubin back line but could only muster long shots. The trickiest attempt came from the boot of Christian Gentner, forcing a good save from Ryzhikov from twenty-two yards.
Rubin answered back with another run from Karadeniz, this time connecting with Bukharov to his left. A poor first touch from Bukharov, however, had him lose some momentum. His cross back into play, deflected off Josue and came to Karadeniz, but his shot went well wide.
The half ended with Gentner, once again, looking the most threatening for Wolfsburg, laterally moving into the middle to try a hopeful chip toward the corner that went wide but almost caught Ryzhikov, once again, out of position.
Other than two chances created by Rubin in the first ten minutes after the break from Kabze and Bukharov, the second half belonged to Wolfsburg, who simply looked the more determined squad.
The visitors performance was strengthened primarily by the strong efforts from Džeko, who decided to move farther to his right to challenge an uncomfortable Salukvadze.
First, in the fifty-third minute, the Bosnia-Herzegovina star pick-pocketed Salukvadze to set Misimovic up for a shot that was parried out of play by Ryzhikov. Off an ensuing corner Misimovic struck what appeared to be a cross off the top of the bar.
Džeko’s second undoing of Salukvadze came five minutes later, this time setting up his own tight-angled shot. Ryzhikov was caught flat-footed but mustered an awkward foot save.
Džeko, proving the old adage that the third time is a charm, effectively created the Misimovic goal on sixty-seven minutes. Having overpowered Salukvadze too easily before, three defenders was drawn to forward after Schäfer delivered an accurate long ball down the left side. Out-muscling Orekhov to hold the ball up, Džeko comfortably handed it off to his countryman Misimovic. The midfielder then turned in space just outside the box to quickly strike a perfect curling shot over Ryzhikov into the far corner.
Fifteen minutes from time Misimovic almost added a second curling goal, but his free kick from twenty yards went off the bar.
Rubin offered no response to the remarkable second-half turn of events—proving how costly the absence of Semak truly was. The away goal secured, Wolfsburg comfortably kept men behind the ball and thwarted the home squad’s exhausted looking attack to seal the draw and will now return to Germany with a distinct advantage.
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