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Champions League: Wolfsburg vs Gent – Five Things We Learned

By Vijay Vemu

GENT, BELGIUM - FEBRUARY 17 : Julian Draxler of Wolfsburg celebrates after he scores a goal to make it 0-1 during the UEFA Champions League match between KAA Gent and VfL Wolfsburg at Ghelamco Arena, on February 17, 2016 in Gent, Belgium. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
GENT, BELGIUM - FEBRUARY 17 : Julian Draxler of Wolfsburg celebrates after he scores a goal to make it 0-1 during the UEFA Champions League match between KAA Gent and VfL Wolfsburg at Ghelamco Arena, on February 17, 2016 in Gent, Belgium. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) /
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3. Gent’s substitutes made all the difference

GENT, BELGIUM – FEBRUARY 17 : Kalifa Coulibaly of Gent in action during the UEFA Champions League match between KAA Gent and VfL Wolfsburg at Ghelamco Arena, on February 17, 2016 in Gent, Belgium. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
GENT, BELGIUM – FEBRUARY 17 : Kalifa Coulibaly of Gent in action during the UEFA Champions League match between KAA Gent and VfL Wolfsburg at Ghelamco Arena, on February 17, 2016 in Gent, Belgium. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images) /

It was the subs that saved the tie for Gent 

Down 3-0, Gent were running out of options. Manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck decided to bring on sub Kalifa Coulibaly for Laurent Depoitre, who seemed to be struggling all game, and it seemed to spark the team. The former PSG youth player rewarded his manager’s faith in him by heading home a rebound to make the game 3-2.

All the credit should be given to Coulibaly as he took a shot from outside the box that was well saved by Benaglio and then proceeded to follow up the striker and head home a crucial second goal for Gent. It was also good work by subs Kenny Seif and Thomas Matton as they were brought right after the third goal and their contributions seemed to help Gent get back in the game offensively.

Vanhaezebrouck took a leap of faith with those subs and it paid off wonderfully for them as without those subs, those two goals wouldn’t have came. Those two goals turned out to be a lifeline for Gent and it may come up crucial if they score in Germany in the second leg. Right now Gent needs two goals without conceding against Wolfsburg to make it to the quarterfinals. That’s being super optimistic but anything can happen in the Champions League. With the way the last twenty minutes of the match turned out to be, you better believe anything is possible for Gent, the little engine that could.

Next: What We Learned #2

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