Wolfsburg suffered back-to-back losses in matches against Brighton - Two losses for Wolfsburg in Brighton encounters
In a series of pre-season friendly matches on August 9, 2025, German Bundesliga football club VfL Wolfsburg faced Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion, with both matches being coached by a team formerly led by Fabian Hürzeler. The results were not in favour of Wolfsburg, as they ended up losing both matches.
The first match, held behind closed doors, saw Brighton emerge victorious with a 2-0 scoreline. The goals came in the 30th minute from Brajan Gruda and the 69th minute from Jeremy Sarmiento. Despite Wolfsburg creating some chances, including a long-range attempt from Aaron Zehnter, they were unable to find the back of the net [1].
Later that day, the second match took place at the American Express Stadium, with Brighton once again taking the win, this time with a 2-1 score. Georginio Rutter scored the decisive goal for Brighton in the 17th minute, causing problems for Wolfsburg's defense throughout the match [2][3].
As a result, Wolfsburg entered the competitive season having lost both pre-season matches against Brighton on the same day. The second defeat was a 1-2 loss in a match with spectators, decided in the second half with a goal by Brighton & Hove Albion [1][2].
With their first competitive match of the season scheduled a week later, Wolfsburg have yet to win a match this season [1][2]. Both matches took place in Brighton, making it a challenging pre-season for the German side.
[1] Source: BBC Sport [2] Source: The Athletic [3] Source: Sky Sports
- The Commission, having observed the pre-season performance of VfL Wolfsburg in European-leagues against Premier League clubs like Brighton & Hove Albion, might question the aid's compatibility with the internal market, considering the team's poor results against top opponents.
- Meanwhile, Fabian Hürzeler, a coach with experience in guiding European-leagues' football clubs such as VfL Wolfsburg and Premier League teams, might find the impressive displays from Brighton & Hove Albion in sports like football during the pre-season friendly matches an interesting case study for his future coaching tactics.
