Wolfsburg closed out their impressive season in perfect fashion on Saturday, defeating Borussia Dortmund to lift the DFB-Pokal. BVB scored early, but were well behind after the first five minutes, and Wolfsburg coasted to an easy 3-1 win.
3 things we learned from Wolfsburg’s 3-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund to win the DFB-Pokal
Jürgen Klopp didn’t get the fairy tale ending. His team got stomped.
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's opening goal was a shocker, and the product of some poor defending. Wolfsburg's central defense pair fell asleep on a chipped ball into the box by Shinji Kagawa, and Aubameyang timed his run perfectly. He had plenty of time and space to settle himself before directing a volley into the back of the net.
But Wolfsburg fought back immediately, forcing Mitchell Langerak into a spectacular save on Vieirinha on their first attack after the goal. They wouldn't have to wait much longer for the equalizer, with Luiz Gustavo scoring it in the 25th minute. Naldo hit a scorching indirect free kick on target, which was well saved by Langerak, but his defenders didn't clear and Gustavo pounced on the rebound.
Wolfsburg were two up by halftime as Dortmund's defense crumbled. The go-ahead goal was a half-volley from Kevin De Bruyne, who scored from 25 yards with a first-time strike. Five minutes after that, Bas Dost headed in an Ivan Perisic cross to double Die Wölfe's lead.
Both teams had their chances early in the first half -- Langerak came up big again in the 48th minutes, denying Daniel Caliguri after a spectacular De Bruyne through ball, and Kagawa hit the post in the 50th minute.
Right around the hour mark, Wolfsburg decided to tighten up and put more men behind the ball. They made a defensive sub in the 74th minute, bringing Joshua Guilavogui into the match, and Dortmund had a frustrating time from there. They had all of the possession and walked the ball up close to Wolfsburg’s box regularly, but struggled to create great chances.
Wolfsburg: Diego Benaglio, Ricardo Rodriguez, Timm Klose, Naldo, Vieirinha, Luiz Gustavo, Maximilian Arnold, Ivan Perisic (Joahua Guilavogui 74'), Kevin De Bruyne, Daniel Caligiuri (Christian Träsch 84'), Bas Dost
Goals: Gustavo (25’), De Bruyne (33’), Dost (38’)
Borussia Dortmund: Mitchell Langerak, Erik Durm (Jakub Blaszczykowski 68') Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic, Marcel Schmelzer, Sebastian Kehl (Lukasz Piszczek 68'), Ilkay Gundogan, Marco Reus (Ciro Immobile 79'), Shinji Kagawa, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Goals: Aubameyang (5’)
3 things
1. Wolfsburg will have trouble keeping KDB. Kevin De Bruyne was Wolfsburg's MVP and the Bundesliga's best player not on Bayern Munich's books this season. They were always going to have a hard time hanging on to him this summer, and this game showed exactly why. He ran the show in the center of the pitch, setting up chance after chance, and scored a stunning goal as well. Someone's willing to pay €40 million for him. Wolfsburg's resolve will be tested.
2. Hummels and Subotic need a Defending For Beginners refresher. Neven Subotic has signed a new contract with Dortmund, while Mats Hummels rejected a chance to join Manchester United. It looks like BVB will have both of them for next season, and that's good. They're two of the most talented defenders they could ever hope to have. But they were awful in this match, as they have been on occasion this season. Thomas Tuchel needs to figure out how to get these guys back on track. They used to be world class and they weren't anywhere near that lately.
3. Mitchell Langerak was the man of the match. The scoreboard doesn’t really do Wolfsburg’s performance justice. They steamrolled Dortmund in this game and should have had six or seven goals. The only reason they didn’t was Dortmund goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak, who was spectacular. He kept his team in a game they had no business being in until the end.
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