Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund. German Bundesliga.
Volkswagen Arena.
Dortmund keep pace with leaders Bayern as Wolfsburg's seven-game unbeaten run comes to an end
Sunday 24 May 2020 06:59, UK
Borussia Dortmund edged to a nervy 2-0 win against 10-man Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, with Jadon Sancho having a hand in the second goal.
The England international was again named on the bench, but came on as a 65th-minute substitute, making a driving run through midfield before laying the ball off for Achraf Hakimi's strike (78).
It doubled Borussia Dortmund's lead after Raphael Guerreiro opened the scoring in the first half (32). Wolfsburg missed a number of glorious chances in a much-improved second period and had Felix Klaus sent off late on following a VAR review after raking his studs down Manuel Akanji's leg.
The result keeps Dortmund in touching distance of first place Bayern Munich - who they host on Tuesday evening - while Wolfsburg stay in sixth after Freiburg lost 1-0 to Werder Bremen.
Both sides had a sight of goal in an even opening 20 minutes. Kevin Mbabu - who assisted the 91st-minute winner against Augsburg last weekend - whipped in a cross but Mats Hummels was ahead of the returning Wout Weghorst to nod it away.
Thorgan Hazard then curled a superb effort goalwards after a nice lay-off from Hakimi, but it just skimmed the top corner.
Dortmund found the breakthrough just after the half-an-hour mark. There was some wonderful link-up play between Julian Brandt, Hakimi and Hazard before the latter flashed the ball through the area, aiming for Erling Haaland. However, as he went to shoot, he tumbled to the floor, but luckily, Guerreiro was waiting just behind to sweep the ball home.
It was the trio of Brandt, Hakimi and Hazard who linked up again just before half-time for another Dortmund effort. Brandt picked out Hakimi on the right with a sweeping pass before the Morocco international found Hazard just inside the area. He had a decent sight of goal too but he just dragged his shot wide of the post and was visibly disappointed after.
Lucien Favre made a half-time change as Hummels made way for Emre Can and it was clear how much Dortmund missed the experienced defender as Wolfsburg dominated much of the second period.
Their biggest change came in the 48th minute as Weghorst used his physicality to head the ball into the path of an unmarked Renato Steffen, who strode towards goal with only Roman Burki to beat. However, he went for power rather than precision and blasted his effort over.
Just after the hour mark and Wolfsburg went close once again. Weghorst put a lovely cross in from the left-hand side. It looked like trouble for Dortmund when Akanji slipped in the middle, but Maximilian Arnold took a poor touch, as did Mbabu when he tried to control the loose ball. Just after, Burki was forced into a save as Steffen hammered the ball goalwards, but the goalkeeper pushed it away strongly.
But Dortmund soon started to find their feet again and made it count when they doubled their lead in the 78th minute. It was a good decision from the referee to play the Dortmund advantage after a foul as Sancho drove through the midfield as the Wolfsburg defence backed away from him. He then slotted the ball to Hakimi on the right, who smashed the ball into the far corner past the oncoming Koen Casteels.
Things unravelled further for Wolfsburg too just minutes later as they went down to ten men. Play was stopped after a foul from Klaus on Akanji and VAR stepping in to review the incident. It showed that Klaus had caught the Dortmund defender on the back of the leg with his studs up, and after viewing the pitchside monitor, Klaus was given a straight red card less than 20 minutes after coming on as a substitute.
It was an impressive performance from the Real Madrid loanee as Erling Haaland had a quieter game. The Morocco international made superb runs, great passes and linked up brilliantly with Brandt and Hazard. He took his goal well and instinctively knew where the goal was, capping off a good afternoon for the wing-back.
Both sides are back in action on Tuesday. Wolfsburg have another tricky fixture, travelling to Bayer Leverkusen (7.30pm kick-off), while it's a huge top of the table clash for Dortmund as they host first-place Bayern Munich (5.30pm kick-off), which you can follow across Sky Sports' digital platforms.
