Borussia Dortmund and coach Nuri Sahin gave themselves the biggest Christmas present and secured their first away win of the season. At VfL Wolfsburg, BVB, who were outstanding in the first half, ultimately deservedly triumphed 3-1 (3-0) despite being outnumbered for 30 minutes. After new coach Sahin was under pressure at times in a difficult Bundesliga half-year, Dortmund are ending an eventful year in 2024 on a positive note in a European Cup place.
Donyell Malen (25th), Maximilian Beier (28th) and Julian Brandt (30th) brought Dortmund to victory within five minutes. Central defender Denis Vavro (58th) scored for Wolfsburg, who were in the majority in the second half after a red card for BVB professional Pascal Groß (62nd/Emergency Brake). After playing in the league after four competitive games in a row without a win With Dortmund 1-1 three times in a row, Sahin and Co. jumped to sixth place in the table. With 25 points after 15 games, only two points are missing from the Champions League places. At the same time, BVB celebrated their first away win since April.
In Wolfsburg, Malen and the recently injured Brandt, both new to the starting line-up, were immediately the focus. After Malen’s strong dribble down the wing, the Dutchman found the advanced Brandt in the center, who chased the ball over the goal from close range, slightly surprised. There were only 77 seconds played. A clear improvement for Dortmund compared to the weak 1-1 draw against TSG Hoffenheim from the previous weekend was evident early on.
BVB repeatedly found the gaps in the VfL defense, but showed deficiencies in exploiting opportunities at the beginning. First, Brandt (15th) shot over the goal again after an assist from Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy, before Jamie Gittens cleared Guirassy (18th) just three minutes later, but the striker missed miserably. Things only got better after Malen after a corner from Ramy Bensebaini, when he shot in unchallenged by Wolfsburg. Led by the brilliant Malen and Brandt, who repeatedly caused problems for Wolfsburg, BVB pushed the hosts into their own half – and scored wonderful goals . First, after a rebound, Brandt sent Beier, who had taken off, deep, and he made the ice-cold attack alone in front of the goal, then the youngster returned the favor by setting up for Brandt in a picture-perfect attack. This time the 28-year-old scored from the backcourt into the bottom left corner. After the break, VfL coach Ralph Hasenhüttl brought in fresh forces – and substitute Lukas Nmecha (49th) immediately missed a great chance. In a one-on-one, the attacker was denied by BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. Dortmund now gave their opponents too much space, with Mohamed Amoura (53′) aiming just over the crossbar.
When Vavro headed in a corner from Maximilian Arnold, new hope grew at VfL. This increased when Groß was sent off after a foul on Amoura on the edge of the penalty area, the national player was the last man. With ten players, BVB had their hands full keeping the wolves under control.
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