The Belgian side trail Wolfsburg by three goals to two heading into the second leg of their last-16 clash on Tuesday, but their manager insists they are not giving up
Gent manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck believes his side can pull off a “miracle” in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Wolfsburg.
The Belgian champions found themselves 3-0 down after an hour in the first leg three weeks ago, but late goals from Sven Kums and Kalifa Coulibaly reduced the deficit and gave them some hope of reaching the quarter-finals.
Vanhaezebrouck concedes that defeating Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena, where the Germans have lost just once in their last six Champions League matches, is a tough task but insists his team can defy the odds and advance through to the last eight.
"We'll need a real miracle as Wolfsburg generally don't lose at home by more than two goals," he said.
"In the last year that's only happened against Bayern Munich, Napoli and Everton. So it won't be easy.
"That doesn't mean we're giving up because miracles do happen. I'll prepare my players so they can play the best game they can."
Midfielder Kums admits Gent paid the price for starting too slowly in the first leg but says they are determined not to make that mistake again on Tuesday.
"We will try everything to achieve our dream of qualifying for the next round," he said.
"In the first leg match we were asleep for the first 80 minutes and started too late. We have to improve on that.
"We just want to play a good game. This group always goes for it, we don't give up on anything."
- Goal