Wolfsburg missed a number of excellent chances as they were held 0-0 by Turkish opponents Besiktas.
Home side end game with 10 men in Germany
Wolfsburg missed a number of excellent chances as they were held 0-0 by Turkish opponents Besiktas in Germany.
The home side will be disappointed not to have picked up all three points in the UEFA Champions League Group B game, although they did finish the match with 10 men after striker Grafite was sent off with 15 minutes remaining.
The Brazilian was shown red after hitting Ibrahim Kas in the face in the build-up to a corner, but Besiktas were not able to capitalise on their numerical advantage in the dying minutes.
Wolfsburg had dominated the game and will be wondering how they did not find the back of the net - striker Edin Dzeko missing three excellent chances, hitting the post in the second half.
With Manchester United already winning in Moscow before kick-off in Germany, the group now looks set to be a race for second place with the Red Devils going clear at the top with nine points.
The hosts were unlucky not to take the lead after 10 minutes when Dzeko, left completely unmarked in the box, connected with a deep Zvjezdan Misimovic cross but his header went over the bar.
Besiktas, who had lost all their previous matches against Bundesliga teams, quickly responded with a chance of their own but Kas's volley was blocked by keeper Diego Benaglio.
After the break, Besiktas had a penalty shout after just a couple of minutes when Nihat was brought down on the edge of the box by Ricardo Costa, but the referee gave nothing.
Moments later at the other end, Christian Gentner scooped a shot over the bar with goalkeeper Recber Rustu scrambling in no man's land.
Denied
Then Dzeko went through on goal only to be twice tackled by defender Matteo Ferrari, but the striker finally got a shot away only to see it hit the post and go out for a goal kick.
Wolfsburg continued to lay siege on the Besiktas goal but the game changed on 74 minutes when Grafite was given his marching orders.
Kas did go down theatrically after Grafite hit him in the face, but the referee had no choice but to brandish the red card.
The German side then found themselves on the back foot for the remainder of the game but could not snatch a winner.
Inceman tried a speculative effort from long range which was comfortably saved by Benaglio, before substitute Nobre fired over, with the flag going up for offside anyway.
Wolfsburg now go second in Group B with four points, five points off United, while Besiktas remain bottom with one point.
| VfL Wolfsburg |
Team Statistics |
Besiktas |
| 0 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 9 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
5 |
| 10 |
Corners |
3 |
| 8 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
5 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 77.4 |
Passing Success |
75.9 |
| 17 |
Tackles |
14 |
| 64.7 |
Tackles Success |
92.9 |
| 51.9 |
Possession |
48.1 |
| 57.6 |
Territorial Advantage |
42.4 |
|
