Everton have qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League with a 2-0 victory against Wolfsburg.
The Toffees went into the game aware that a point would be enough to secure a place in the next round, and Romelu Lukaku's goal two minutes before the break put his team on course for the three points.
With the match between FC Krasnodar and Lille ending in a draw, Everton were aware at the break that they were through but a second goal 15 minutes from time from Kevin Mirallas ensured that top spot in the group was secured with a game to spare.
Read below to see how the action unfolded at the Volkswagen Arena.
Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the match in the Europa League between Wolfsburg and Everton.
When the draw was made for the group stages of the Europa League, it was widely regarded that each of Everton's six fixtures would see them provided with a tough examination but tonight in Germany, they perhaps face their sternest test against a Wolfsburg side who have been in excellent form over the past couple of months.
It was Everton's 4-1 thumping of the Bundesliga side that acted as the catalyst for their season with a number of successive wins being recorded on the domestic scene to leave them second in the league table while seven points in their following three games in the Europa League has left them well placed to qualify for the knockout stages after Christmas.
That all sounds rather glum if you are an Everton supporter, doesn't it? Well, it shouldn't because Roberto Martinez's men are just a point away from securing their place in the group stages of the competition and to be at that stage after being drawn alongside tonight's opponents, Lille and FC Krasnodar, that's a pretty impressive achievement. However, the job isn't complete just yet and the Toffees are going to have to perform well this evening if they are going to return to England with their progress secured.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the two teams. There's some notable news coming from both camps so stay tuned.
EVERTON XI: Howard; Hibbert, Garbutt, Jagielka, Distin; Besic, McCarthy, McGeady; Mirallas, Eto'o, Lukaku
EVERTON SUBSTITUTES: Joel, Kone, Atsu, Osman, Coleman, Browning, Barkley
WOLFSBURG XI: Benaglio; Schafer, Naldo, Knoche, Perisic; Hunt, De Bruyne, Malanda, Luiz Gustavo; Bendtner, Vieirinha
WOLFSBURG SUBSTITUTES: Grun, T. Klose, Jung, Caligiuri, Trasch, Olic, Arnold
Let's start with Everton, who have made a couple of notable selections in their 18-man squad. Defender Luke Garbutt has been drafted in to the Toffees' backline while Arouna Kone takes his place in the senior setup for the first time in 13 months after suffering a serious knee injury last October. I should imagine that Martinez will be targeting the last 15 minutes to give the striker a run out.
As for Wolfsburg, Nicklas Bendtner starts in attack, and one way or another, it's always interesting when the Dane takes to the pitch. He didn't enjoy the best of starts at his new club but three goals in his last three games has seen him earn the nod this evening. Everton will also have to watch out for Kevin de Bruyne, who has been a revelation since leaving Chelsea at the start of the year.
The other fixture in this group between FC Krasnodar and Lille started an hour before this one and there has been a goal. The Russian side have edged in front thanks to Ari, which leaves Lille having to find a response after the break to remain in the competition.
We are almost ready to get underway at the Volkswagen Arena in front of what is sure to be a capacity ground. The ground looks like it holds more than 30,000, but I promise you that there isn't more than that in attendance.
Not tempting fate or anything, but...
0 - Everton have never lost to German opposition in European football, winning four and drawing four of their eight encounters. Confident.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 27, 2014
We are underway in Germany
My word, Wolfsburg look sharp going forward! A rapid move ends with Ivan Perisic driving the ball across the six-yard box for Nicklas Bendtner but the delivery is too hard for the Dane.
The Merseyside outfit are chasing shadows at the moment. The fact that this match is being played at a similar pace to that of the Premier League should benefit Everton but as of yet, they can't get any time on the ball.
CHANCE! The Germans work the ball down the right-hand side before a fiercely-struck cross finds Ivan Perisic at the back post, but despite getting in front of Tony Hibbert, he can only head over the crossbar from 10 yards.
It's been a breathless start to this game but Everton are finally beginning to get on the ball, although when they do, they aren't doing much with it. Samuel Eto'o or Romelu Lukaku have barely touched the ball so far.
That's much better from Everton. After a move involving Lukaku breaks down, the ball finds Eto'o on the left flank. The legendary Cameroon forward jinks inside his marker but his cross-cum-shot evades everyone and misses the back post.
Ivan Perisic looks far too sharp for Tony Hibbert. For the third time in the opening 12 minutes, the Croatian lost the full-back but he couldn't cut his shot back on target after being forced wide.
WOODWORK! Everton hit the bar! A corner from Luke Garbutt finds Sylvain Distin at the back post but the French defender somehow heads into the ground before seeing his shot hit the woodwork. He should have scored.
SAVE! Back up the other end, Aaron Hunt lets fly from 25 yards to force Tim Howard to palm the ball away from the top corner. James McCarthy is down injured and I think both teams will be grateful for the break. I certainly am!
McCarthy is continuing for now but he's still troubled by a problem with his thigh. Everton have Leon Osman and Ross Barkley on the bench if he is unable to keep going.
The action has calmed down a touch now. In truth, it needed to because everyone would have been exhausted by the hour mark. Kevin de Bruyne is looking increasingly threatening and the Belgian's just had a 25-yard strike deflected wide for a corner.
Uh oh, this is controversial. Ivan Perisic has the ball in the net for Wolfsburg but it has wrongly been ruled out for offside. A cross was deflected into the path of the winger who got ahead of Phil Jagielka to tap home but the assistant has failed to see the Everton centre-back and ruled that the Wolfsburg man was standing alone in the six-yard box. Huge let-off for the Toffees.
FC Krasnodar remain 1-0 ahead against Lille with around 20 minutes to go in Russia. If that remains the same, they will go into their final game needing to beat Everton to have a chance of progression. Long way to go though yet...
Everton break rapidly through Sylvain Distin, who can still move at a pace at the age of 36, but Romelu Lukaku and Muhamed Besic proceed to mess up the move.
SUBSTITUTION! We mentioned earlier that James McCarthy was struggling with a thigh problem and it's finally forced him to be replaced by Leon Osman. That's a blow for the Toffees but Osman is a decent replacement.
Apart from that one Distin header that struck the crossbar, Everton have done nothing in the final third and it's resulting in the ball coming straight back at their defence whenever they manage to clear. After winning a corner, the delivery finds Ivan Perisic but he can't divert his header on Tim Howard's goal.
SHOT! Kevin Mirallas has endured a quiet 35 minutes before he almost announces himself on the game with a stunning 30-yard strike that has Diego Benaglio stepping back to tip the ball over the crossbar. That's the first time that the former Swiss stopper has been forced into action.
There have been developments in Russia and it's terrific news for Everton. Lille have equalised against FC Krasnodar, and if that result remains the same, Everton will be in the knockout stages, regardless of how they do in Germany.
Vieirinha and Nicklas Bendtner have been quiet for the hosts but in the space of a minute, they both have shots on goal. Vieirinha's effort from 20 yards was comfortably saved by Tim Howard while Bendtner's strike was curled a couple of yards wide of the far post.
What a block from Phil Jagielka! Space opens up for Kevin de Bruyne on the edge of the penalty area but just as it appears that he will get a free shot away on goal, the England defender slid in to block superbly.
GOAL! Wolfsburg 0-1 Everton (Lukaku)
Everton take the lead and it's a marvellous goal from Romelu Lukaku! After a Wolfsburg attack breaks down, Kevin Mirallas flicks the ball forward for Lukaku, who has the whole half of the pitch in front of him. It takes a while for him to gain full control of the ball but when he does, he powers forward before confidently slotting past Diego Benaglio from 12 yards.
There will be two minutes of added-on time.
HALF TIME: Wolfsburg 0-1 Everton
The half-time whistle goes in Germany and Everton have taken a 1-0 advantage over Wolfsburg into the break. After Ivan Perisic's goal was wrongly adjudged to have been offside, the Toffees are fortunate to be ahead but Roberto Martinez won't care - his side are 45 minutes from securing top spot in the group with a game to spare.
During that opening 45 minutes, Wolfsburg had as many as 13 shots on goal but only four managed to hit the target. That dwarfs Everton's four efforts but they have made theirs count. The German side are also winning the corner count five to three and have had 57% of possession but all of that has come to nothing before half time.
QUALIFICATION UPDATE! It's all over in Russia and the match between FC Krasnodar and Lille has ended in a 1-1 draw. That means that regardless of the result tonight, Everton will have Europa League football to look forward to after Christmas. Given the difficulty of their group, that's a tremendous achievement. First place is still up for grabs though and Roberto Martinez will be desperate to get the win that they require tonight so that he can rest players for the final fixture against Krasnodar in two weeks time.
The two teams are making their way back out in Germany. Everton will be relieved to hear that they have qualified but don't expect any let up in their performance.
Everton get the second half underway.
It's worth noting that Wolfsburg have only failed to score on one occasion all season so Everton will have to be on their guard in the next 45 minutes.
Like in the first half, it has been all Wolfsburg since the kickoff. The tactics seem to be to give the ball to Kevin de Bruyne on the edge of the penalty area but neither of his two efforts have found the target since the restart.
Luis Gustavo and De Bruyne combine to free up some space for Aaron Hunt but after working the ball onto his left foot, the midfielder's 20-yard strike was straight at Tim Howard. He will be disappointed with that.
Every time Jose Mourinho sees Kevin de Bruyne in action, he must regret letting the Belgian leave Stamford Bridge. the playmaker twists and turns his way past Luke Garbutt before seeing a shot saved by Tim Howard, who diverts the ball wide for the corner.
Wolfsburg have the ball in the net for a second time, but again, the goal has been ruled out for offside. However, on this occasion, the assistant got it spot on, with Nicklas Bendtner being half a yard offside before tapping home from three yards.
Everton finally make some inroads in the Wolfsburg final third as Samuel Eto'o manages to win a corner for his side. The ball into the box is a decent one but it misses everyone and is cleared.
MISS! Aiden McGeady has just registered a late contender for the worst miss of 2014. After Romelu Lukaku had seen a shot saved by the goalkeeper, the ball rebounded invitingly into the path of the Irish winger but with just one defender on the line, he side-footed the ball over the crossbar from no more than eight yards.
WOODWORK! After that near miss, Wolfsburg advance up the other end of the pitch through Ivan Perisic but after cutting inside onto his right foot, his shot from the edge of the area clips the outside of the post and goes behind.
SAVE! Surely Perisic is going to get on the score sheet sooner rather than later? The Croatian drives towards the Everton defence before his venomous drive is tipped wide by Tim Howard.
Daniel Caligiuri has looked lively since coming on as a substitute and he does enough to draw a foul out of Aiden McGeady on the edge of the box. The cross into the box avoids a Wolfsburg head but an Everton defender has to get in the way to stop a bullet of a strike hitting the target.
There's less than 20 minutes remaining at the Volkswagen Arena but it would be a surprise if Wolfsburg don't find the equaliser. They are battering the Everton door down at the moment.
SUBSTITUTION! Samuel Eto'o has been withdrawn from the action with Ross Barkley coming on in his place. Shortly after his introduction, Muhamed Besic went into the book after a succession of fouls.
GOAL! Wolfsburg 0-2 Everton (Mirallas)
Out of nowhere, Everton have doubled their lead in Germany! Romelu Lukaku held off the attentions of a defender before setting Kevin Mirallas free. The Belgian winger had to bide his time before freeing up a shooting opportunity but when he did, he drove the ball into the bottom corner from 14 yards. It's an excellent finish on what is turning out to be an excellent evening for Everton.
Wolfsburg are still pushing forward - they've had 28 shots this evening - but that second goal has rocked them and it's a long way back from here. Everton are also looking a threat on the break and could get a third here.
Of those 28 shots, Ivan Perisic has had about 10 of them, but he still can't score. He sends another shot over the crossbar, much to the delight of the Everton fans behind the goal. Romelu Lukaku looks to be limping.
SUBSTITUTION! Roberto Martinez is happy to risk the fitness of his striker by throwing on Christian Atsu for Kevin Mirallas. That change means that we won't see the return of Arouna Kone.
The Wolfsburg pressure is still coming but Everton are still showing excellent resilience to maintain their clean sheet. Ivica Olic looked ready to net from 12 yards out but yet another block, this time from Sylvain Distin, kept his shot out.
WOODWORK! Wolfsburg strike the post for the second time in the match after Max Arnold's low half-volley hits the post and goes wide. It looked as though it may have got a deflection but the referee gives a goal kick.
It's Everton's turn to have a goal ruled out for offside. Christian Atsu's pass was curled into the top corner by Ross Barkley but the referee saw a flag from his assistant. The England international was no more than a few centimetres the wrong side of the last defender.
Kevin de Bruyne recieves the ball inside the penalty area but he can only curl it over the crossbar from 16 yards. That ought to be about it. Two minutes of the three added on remain.
FULL TIME! Wolfsburg 0-2 Everton
The referee blows his full-time whistle in Germany and Everton have held out to record a famous 2-0 victory at the Volkswagen Arena. They were under siege for much of the match but no-one can argue with the result.
As mentioned earlier, that result secures first place in the group for the Toffees with a game to spare. At the start of the campaign, that was almost unthinkable given the strength of the opposition, but for the fifth match in a row, Everton have put points on the board and their hard work has paid off.
That will be all from Sports Mole's coverage of this match. However, that's not all from us tonight. The matches involving Tottenham Hotspur and Partizan Belgrade and Celtic and Salzburg are due to start at 8.05pm, GMT. Goodbye for now.
Written by
Darren Plant
Darren Plant
