Besiktas 0-3 VfL Wolfsburg: Die Wolfe Run Riot in Istanbul

CL: Besiktas - Wolfsburg, Ibrahim Kas vs Edin Dzeko (Getty Images)

VfL Wolfsburg made easy meat of Besiktas with a comfortable three nil victory in Istanbul which featured a stunning goal from Zvjezdan Misimovic.

The Turks made eight changes from their weekend win in the Super Lig and were missing the likes of Rustu Recber in goal and the influential Nihat in attack.

Die Wolfe on the other hand only had to make one swap with Obafemi Martins replacing the suspended Grafite up front.

After a largely forgettable game a fortnight ago in Germany the passionate Istanbul crowd were expecting something better this time round.

They were soon silenced by an attack minded Wolfsburg side who tested the shaky Hakan Arikan in goal on several occasions in the opening exchanges.

Christian Gentner was the first to challenge Arikan's nerves with an angled drive in the seventh minute which the replacement keeper failed to deal with properly.

Moments later Ricardo Costa almost opened the scoring for the visitors when he found himself unmarked in acres of space inside the box only to nod his free header wide of the post.

VfL got the lead their early dominance deserved with a stunning strike from Zvjezdan Misimovic in the 14th minute.

Picking the ball up just inside the Turkish half he cut inside and with plenty of time and space he unleashed an accurate shot with his left foot from 30 metres out which rocketed into the back of the net.

It was the Bosnian's first Champions League goal and he almost doubled his tally ten minutes later when he had a free header at the back post but missed the target.

With the home fans going quiet Besiktas looked devoid of ideas and it wasn't until the final ten minutes of the half until they began to create anything.

Brazilian forward Bobo, wearing gloves on a cold night in Turkey, increasingly dropped deep as he looked for support up front.

Besiktas coach, Mustafa Denizli, hauled off Serdar Ozkan for Rodrigo Tello for the second half as his side went in search of a first goal against German opposition in Europe.

Indeed it was the German, Michael Fink, who almost ended the drought on the hour mark for Besiktas when he tested Benaglio with a low drive from just outside the box which the keeper parried away.

The Black Eagles were clearly missing the creativity of Nihat and threw on forward Mert Nobre for the final 20 minutes replacing Rodrigo Tabata.

Obafemi Martins was taken off for VfL at the same time for Ashkan Dejagah after a quiet evening with his strike partner Edin Dzeko.

With their qualification chances slipping away, Besiktas began to push forward as the match entered its final quarter of an hour.

Fink was one of the few to stand out for the home side and went close again in the 77th when he executed a half volley from outside the box which whistled past the post.

His efforts were to be in vain though as Christian Gentner secured the three points with a delightful goal in the 80th minute.

Goalscorer Misimovic played Dzeko through on goal who collided with Arikan inside his area, with the keeper committed the ball found its way to Gentner who lobbed the ball into net from 20 yards out as the stopper looked on in vain.

That wasn't the end of the scoring as Dzeko wrapped up proceedings with a final flourish in the 87th minute.

Receiving a through ball from Misimovic, Dzeko beat his man and with one touch controlled the ball and with the second fired it into the net to complete an emphatic victory.

It was no more than the visitors deserved as Die Wolfe left Istanbul with their tails firmly up.

Patrick Reilly, Goal.com