VfL Wolfsburg were beaten 2-1 (1-0) by Borussia Dortmund on Saturday afternoon. Although VfL had more chances in the open contest to keep all three points at home, it was BVB who landed the decisive blow in the end. Shortly before full time (87th minute), Serhou Guirassy scored the winner for the visitors. It is the Green-Whites’ 12th defeat of the season. That leaves the Wolves currently 15th in the table. Next Sunday, head coach Daniel Bauer’s team are on the road again – RB Leipzig await as they host VfL on Matchday 22.
Facts about the game
Guirassy gives himself a gift: For Serhou Guirassy, Saturday afternoon’s match was his 50th Bundesliga appearance for BVB. He provided his own present by scoring in the 87th minute to make it 2-1 – much to Wolfsburg’s displeasure.
Debut for Belocian: Jeanuel Belocian has only been a Wolf for a week. But on Saturday the defender made his first appearance for the Green-Whites – and it came straight away with a start on his debut. Belocian played the full 90 minutes.
More firsts: But it wasn’t only Belocian making his debut – Kento Shiogai was in the Wolves’ starting XI for the first time. Kevin Paredes also started again for the first time since his injury – and, with it, for the first time this season in the starting line-up.
Two thirds, no goal: VfL registered a total of 12 shots during the match. Two thirds of them came from Mohammed Amoura. However, he was denied a goal – leaving the pitch in the 83rd minute with eight efforts to his name.
Player of the Match: The ball didn’t end up in the net, but the fans still honoured Amoura by voting him first (42 percent of the votes) in the Player of the Match poll. Belocian finished second with 16 percent, Christian Eriksen third with 13 percent.
Koulie scores for the first time: The scorer of Wolfsburg’s goal was Konstantinos Koulierakis. His strike in the 52nd minute not only made it 1-1 at the time, but was also his first goal for the Wolves.
Special significance: For Koulierakis, the equaliser was important not only because it was his first goal, as he dedicated it to seven fans of his former club PAOK Thessaloniki who were killed in an accident on their way to the match against Olympique Lyon. Speaking about his gesture during the celebration, the defender said: “I wish the families a lot of strength. What happened is very sad.”
Head-to-head
- xGoals: 1.46 WOB – 1.23 BVB
- Shots: 12 WOB – 21 BVB
- Distance covered: 119.38 km WOB – 119.48 km BVB
- Possession: 35% WOB – 65% BVB
- Duel success rate: 43% WOB – 57% BVB
- Pass accuracy: 77% WOB – 86% BVB
- Successful dribbles: 47% WOB – 67% BVB
- Fastest player: Adam Daghim (WOB) 35.9 km/h – Maximilian Beier (BVB) 35.4 km/h
- Highest distance covered: Christian Eriksen (WOB) 12.61 km – Daniel Svensson (BVB) 12.52 km
