Gary Lineker makes joke about Nicklas Bendtner scoring a double, but former Arsenal striker gives as good as he gets in Twitter exchange

Bendtner scored twice in Wolfsburg's 5-1 win over FK Karasnodar to finally open his account with the Bundesliga club

Gary Lineker and Nicklas Bendtner (Getty Images)

Nicklas Bendtner finally opened his Wolfsburg account as he got on the scoresheet in the 5-1 Europa League victory over FK Krasnodar, and like buses, a second came immediately.

The former Arsenal striker joined the Bundesliga club in a free transfer during the summer, having left the Gunners after nine years with the Premier League side.

However, it was not all rosy for the Denmark international as he struggled to find the back of the net, but when he was given the chance to convert an 89th-minute penalty he duly obliged to score his first goal for the club.

But was Bendtner finished there? Of course not, as he had enough time to grab a second a minute later and complete the rout that lifts the German side to a comfortable second position in Group H.

However, the 26-year-old soon logged onto his Twitter account to see a jibe from BBC Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who appeared to be just as surprised that Bendtner had got on the scoresheet.

“Nicklas Bendtner has just scored two goals in the last minute for Wolfsburg. This is not a joke, this is NOT a joke!” Lineker tweeted to his 3.28m followers.

Well, Bendtner wasn’t having any of it, and he replied directly to Lineker in good taste, writing: “Great Tweet mate! Well done, I repeat, well done.”

Lineker would have the last say in the matter though, adding: “And well done to you too.”

The back-and-forth on social media came after Lineker had criticised the formation of the Europa League, in which he had a special interest having played for both Tottenham and Everton. The two sides picked up important victories last night, with Spurs surviving a late scare against Asteras Tripolis to win 2-1, while Everton saw off French side Lille 3-0 at Goodison Park.

Bendtner scores a penalty in Wolfsburg's 5-1 win (Getty Images)

Lineker called for the knockout system to be reintroduced from the start of the junior European competition, and even hinted that he had a name for it – with tongue-in-cheek of course – the Uefa Cup.

He wrote: “Scrap the Europa League and revamp it as a good old-fashioned knockout competition. I've even got a name for it: The UEFA Cup.”