?Nuremberg's Simon Rhein (R) vies with Wolfsburg's Yunus Malli during a German Bundesliga match between 1.FC Nuremberg and VfL Wolfsburg in Nuremberg, Germany, on Dec. 14, 2018. Nuremberg lost 0-2. (Xinhua/Kevin Voigt)
BERLIN, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Second-half goals from Josip Brekalo and Daniel Ginczek helped Wolfsburg to overcome bottom side Nuremberg in the 15th round of Bundesliga on Friday.
Both sides staged a lively opening period with chances at both ends of the pitch. Wolfsburg's Daniel Ginczek tested goalkeeper Fabien Bredlow twice before Nuremberg's Adam Zrelak pulled wide from close range.
Despite the promising start into the encounter, both sides neutralized their attacking efforts as the match progressed. Hence, goal-scoring opportunities remained a rare occurrence for the remainder of the first half.
After the restart, Wolfsburg increased the pressure and rattled the woodwork in the 57th minute when Wout Weghorst rattled the left post.
The "Wolves" gained momentum and eventually opened the scoring only three minutes later as Maximilian Arnold's through ball allowed Daniel Ginczek to shrug off Georg Margreitter and Robert Bauer before tapping the ball past Bredlow into the bottom right corner.
Nuremberg responded well and thought they had scored the equalizer but Adam Zrelak's close-range header was ruled offside in the 85th minute.
Wolfsburg retracted with the lead and put the result beyond doubt in the added time after substitute Josip Brekalo overcame Bredlow into the bottom right to make it 2-0 on the scoreboards.
With the result, newly promoted Nuremberg slipped to the 16th place, which is a relegation play-off spot, meanwhile Wolfsburg jumped to the eighth position of the standings.
"We played a weak first half as we built up our opponents by simply losing the ball. After the break the team played a completely different game," Wolfsburg head coach Bruno Labbadia said.
The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: front-runners Borussia Dortmund host Werder Bremen, Hoffenheim see runners-up Borussia Monchengladbach, Stuttgart face Hertha Berlin, Augsburg encounter Schalke, Hannover clash with defending champions Bayern Munich and newly promoted Dusseldorf take on Freiburg.