Ten-man Wolfsburg held by Turkey´s Besiktas

Ten-man Wolfsburg were held to a goalless draw by Turkish side Besiktas here in the Champions League on Wednesday to leave the race for second-place in Group B behind Manchester United wide open.

Wolfsburg’s out-of-form striker Grafite, the top scorer in the Bundesliga last season who is struggling this term, was shown a straight red card midway through the second-half for violent conduct and will be banned for at least the next game.

“We are a better team than that and we are bitterly disappointed not to win,” said Wolfsburg’s striker Edin Dzeko.

“I didn’t see what happened, but if he (Grafite) did hit his opponent in the face then it was a stupid foul.

“We should have scored, I think we were better than the 0-0 draw, but that is football.”

With Manchester United winning 1-0 in Moscow to dominate the group and keep their 100 percent record, the battle is now on for second place between these two sides with a place in the knock-out phase still up for grabs.

After taking a point from the game, both Wolfsburg and Besiktas are level on five points with Moscow out of the hunt with zero points from three defeats with the Turkish and German giants set to meet again in Turkey on November 3.

“The key to the next round is still in our hands and we need to make sure we don’t hide in the next two games,” said Wolfsburg defender Sasha Riether with the Wolves also travelling to Moscow on November 25.

“We are still in the fight and must make sure we stay in with a shout.”

It was honours even at the end of the first-half as Wolfsburg threatened on several occasions with the aerial prowess of Dzeko a constant worry for the Besiktas back four, but his strike partner Grafite looked rusty.

The visitors produced little in the way of attacking football, but the Turks looked capable of scoring with Nihat Kahveci and Bobo both creating individual chances.

The Wolves squandered a gold-plated opportunity to take the lead on 53 minutes, when the home side poured forward in numbers and drew Besiktas veteran goalkeeper Rustu Recber, but somehow Christian Gentner managed to fire over the bar.

With the football turning into a lacklustre affair, the Turkish fans at least lit up a gloomy night at the Volkswagen Arena by setting off several flares which sent smoke billowing across the pitch.

Grafite was sent for an early shower on 73 minutes when he struck Besiktas defender Ibrahim Kas on the side of the face leaving Italian referee Roberto Rosetti with no choice but to send him off.

Despite the numerical advantage, Besiktas could not get a valuable away goal and there is still everything to play for on November 3 back in Istanbul.