BERLIN, May 29 -- Wolfsburg wrapped up their top-flight survival after beating second division side Braunschweig 1-0 (2-0 on aggregate) following the second leg of the Bundesliga play offs on Monday.
The "Wolves" maintain their Bundesliga status as Vieirinha's sole goal of the match smoothed the way for another year in Germany's first division as Braunschweig failed to score in both relegation games.
Hosts Braunschweig came out with their offense blazing, knowing that an early goal would restore parity on aggregate.
The "Lions" worked out the first chances of the game but neither Christoffer Nyman nor Gustav Valsvik were able to beat Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels.
Wolfsburg needed 30 minutes to gain a foothold into the encounter before Yannick Gerhardt tested custodian Jasmin Fejzic with a long-range effort.
However, Braunschweig had the golden chance to break the deadlock but Ken Reichel squandered Nyman's build-up work after pulling the ball over the bar from promising position just before the break.
The "Wolves" punished Braunschweig's wastefulness after the restart as Vieirinha hammered home a rebound from the edge of the box to open the scoring four minutes into the second half.
The visitors should have added another goal to their lead but Luiz Gustavo missed the empty goal following a square pass from Mario Gomez. Meanwhile, Braunschweig were unable to recover from Wolfsburg's crucial away goal.
With the result, Wolfsburg booked their berth for another Bundesliga season whereas Braunschweig will have to focus on the second division matters.
"I can understand that the win is a relief for the team but winning the relegation play offs is not a success for a club like Wolfsburg," head coach Andries Jonker said.
"Congratulations to Wolfsburg. We didn't make the most of our chances and therefore we remain in the second division," Braunschweig's sporting director Marc Arnold said.