As expected, Borussia Dortmund were able to control the match despite both managers fielding a 4-2-3-1. There were plenty of chances for both sides, but as the match wore on you felt there was only going to be one winner. Jürgen Klopp selected a nearly first choice side with goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller being the only absentee.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Wolfsburg: 2-1 win for Schwarzgelbe keeps them in second
Despite looking the better side for the first half, visitors Wolfsburg weren’t able to capitalize on their early chances and Dortmund came from behind to earn a deserved victory thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus.
Lars Baron
Visitors Wolfsburg dictated the tempo of the match early. Ten minutes in, Ivica Olić was unable to score when his shot went wide after receiving a ground cross that got past Dortmund keeper Mitchell Langerak. In the 15th minute, Sokratis Papastathopoulos came in with a tackle from behind which allowed another chance for Die Wolfe, but Naldo shot straight into the wall from a free kick 30 yards out. Kevin De Bruyne spurned a chance in the 24th minute when he shanked a shot off the side of his foot when he had more time than he thought.
The visitors finally got their deserved goal in the 34th minute when Olić was able to tap in after Langerak could only parry Junior Malanda’s effort into the goalscorer’s path. Eight minutes later, it looked like Wolfsburg would have a second when De Bruyne’s ground cross found Olić a yard from goal. The Croatian’s shot hit the crossbar, went into the ground, bounced and hit the bar again before finally being cleared.
At the start of the second half, Klopp swapped Miloš Jojić for Nuri Sahin and Erik Durm for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Durm is a left back, so that meant pushing Kevin Großkreutz up to the left of midfield and swapping Marco Reus to the right flank.
Five minutes into the half, Robert Lewandowski tied the game with a header from Dortmund's sixth corner of the match. The nearly-two-meter tall man mountain that is Naldo rose to head away but the ball sailed about an inch over the top of his head right to the soon-to-be Bayern man Lewandowski who clinically headed to the far post. This really brought Die Schwarzgelbe (and their crowd) to life and they looked increasingly dangerous after scoring.
Christian Träsch had to get subbed off in the 69th minute with a foot injury and was replaced by Patrick Ochs. Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired inches wide a minute later following a classic Dortmund counter attack. Klopp made his final change in the 77th minute replacing Mkhitaryan with Oliver Kirch.
A minute later Reus made it 2-1 after Wolfsburg committed a horrible error at the back. Keeper Max Grün went to catch a cross but crashed into his own defender Robin Knoche, the ball popped free, and Reus was left free to slot into an open net.
Dortmund have opened a three-point lead on rivals Schalke for second place in the Bundesliga. Wolfsburg, who started the day in fifth, fell to sixth after missing a chance to win and being hopped by Borussia Mönchengladbach. Daniel Caligiuri headed over in the 86th minute in what would seem to be Wolfsburg’s best chance late in the match.
Two minutes of stoppage time brought nothing for the visitors, and Dortmund may be able to take this momentum forward into the return leg against Real Madrid.
Dortmund: Langerak; Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels, Großkreutz; Kehl, Sahin (Jojić 46’); Aubameyang (Durm 46’), Mkhitaryan(Kirch 77’), Reus; Lewandowski
Goals: (Lewandowski 51’) (Reus 78’)
Wolfsburg: Grün; Rodriguez, Knoche, Naldo, Träsch (Ochs 69’); Malanda (Caligiuri 79’), Luiz Gustavo; Perišić, Arnold, De Bruyne; Olić
Goals: (Olić 34’)
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