Ivan Saenko's 34th-minute goal separated the sides at the break in torrid conditions, his effort from outside the area fumbled by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio into the net.

Wolfsburg had earlier missed a penalty when Marcelinho saw his 11th minute spot-kick saved by Jaromir Blazek after Nurnberg defender Andreas Wolf had dragged down Edin Dzeko.

But a heavily waterlogged pitch meant chances were few and far between for both sides in a frustrating first 45 minutes.

All eyes were then on referee Dr Jochen Drees during the interval as the ground staff worked frantically on the pitch to get it to a playable standard despite the driving rain.

And after two pitch inspections, the referee decided to call the match off nearly an hour after the half-time whistle had been blown.