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Wolfsburg vs Hannover 96. German Bundesliga.

Volkswagen ArenaAttendance29,514.

Wolfsburg 2

  • B Dost (24th minute)
  • I Perisic (45th minute)

Hannover 96 2

  • J Briand (47th minute)
  • S Sané (58th minute)

German Bundesliga: Wolfsburg v Hannover

Wolfsburg's Portuguese striker Vieirinha (L) and Hanover's midfielder Edgar Prib vie for the ball during the
Image: Wolfsburg's Portuguese striker Vieirinha and Edgar Prib get in a tangle

Hannover fought back from two goals down to take a point at second-placed Wolfsburg, but the 2-2 draw was still not enough to prevent them from slipping into the bottom three for the first time all season.

Bas Dost and Ivan Perisic gave the Wolves what appeared to be a comfortable lead at the interval, but Jimmy Briand and Salif Sane replied early in the second half to earn Michael Frontzeck his first point as Hannover coach.

However, with Paderborn beating Freiburg, it was not enough to prevent the Reds from dropping down to 16th, while they can slip further on Sunday if Hamburg win their game in hand.

Dieter Hecking, who had been Hannover's longest-serving coach until Mirko Slomka beat his record recently, was keen on securing his side's place in the Champions League group stage as soon as possible to allow him then to focus on a cup final with Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.

There could therefore be no room for nostalgia or sympathy for a Hannover side who, without a win in 2015, had fallen to the brink of the bottom three.

Things were about to get much worse for the Lower Saxony side too with Wolfsburg showing no mercy, taking a deserved lead in the 24th minute with Dost volleying in Kevin De Bruyne's cross at the far post.

Wolfsburg's lead was never placed under any kind of threat before they added a second on the stroke of half-time.

Perisic skipped past Edgar Prib as if he was not even there before unleashing a shot from 25 yards which nestled in the top right-hand corner, leaving Ron-Robert Zieler no chance.

Some harsh words were needed from Frontzeck in the Hannover dressing room, and they worked too with Hannover transformed in the second half.

Briand headed them back into the game from Prib's cross and the Reds suddenly had some belief.

That was nearly snatched from them when Perisic struck the crossbar, and that let-off seemed only to give Hannover even more inspiration.

Sane brought them level in the 58th minute with a spectacular overhead kick which would have been worthy of more than just a point.

That is all it got Hannover, though, and that was not enough to keep them above the relegation zone.

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