A Julian Draxler strike has helped Wolfsburg secure a 1-0 win against CSKA Moscow in their Champions League Group B clash at the Volkswagen Arena.
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The early stages of the game were punctuated by challenges and fouls, with the first chance not coming until the 11th minute when Bas Dost slammed a header just over the crossbar.
Wolfsburg kept on piling the pressure, with Luis Gustavo seeing his ferocious shot on the edge of the box frantically charged down just after the quarter-hour mark.
Andre Schurrle then registered the best chance of the game when he was given time inside the CSKA box to rifle a low strike down the middle, but Igor Akinfeev pulled off a fine save to keep the effort out.
With just five minutes until the break, Dieter Hecking's charges succeeded in breaking the deadlock as Draxler thumped a header towards goal, and despite Akinfeev's initial save, the 21-year-old was able to stab home the rebound to put Wolfsburg into the lead.
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The hosts picked up from where they left off after the restart, with Nicklas Bendtner, Max Kruse and Naldo all weighing in with dangerous chances against their increasingly rattled opponents.
CSKA were able to work their way back into the game midway through the second half and threatened through Zoran Tosic and Roman Emerenko, but Wolfsburg countered through the livewire Schurrle, who skipped past a series of challenges and dragged his shot narrowly wide of the left post.
Ultimately the hosts were able to see the game out and, despite only winning by a goal, it was a relatively easy win for last season's DFB-Pokal winners.
Giuseppe Labellarte
