VfL Wolfsburg suffered a heavy 6-1 defeat at second-placed Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 30. The floodgates opened after around a quarter of an hour and the Wolves found themselves five goals down by half-time, with debutant Tom Rothe (24’), Axel Witsel (26’), Manuel Akanji (28’), Emre Can (35’) and Erling Haaland (38’) on the scoresheet. The Norwegian goal-getter added another after the break (54’), before Ridle Baku netted a late consolation for VfL (81’).
The Green-and-Whites can bounce back when they host 1. FSV Mainz 05 at the Volkswagen Arena on Matchday 31 this Friday, 22 April (20:30 CEST).
Goals
1-0 Rothe (24’): From Julian Brandt’s left-wing corner, Rothe escapes from Sebastiaan Bornauw at the near post and his flicked header beats a somewhat surprised Koen Casteels.
2-0 Witsel (26’): The Black and Yellows hit the Green-and-Whites on the counter with greater numbers, Haaland intercepting the ball and feeding Witsel, who drives it low into the net from nine metres.
3-0 Akanji (28’): Marco Reus sends a free-kick from the left into the penalty area, where Akanji sticks out a boot to poke it in.
4-0 Can (35’): Can isn’t closed down and is allowed to shoot from the edge of the penalty area. His low strike isn’t the most powerful but it creeps into the left corner.
5-0 Haaland (38’): Reus lays it on a plate in the middle for Haaland, who just has to stick the ball into the unguarded net.
6-0 Haaland (54’): Reus combines with Brandt, who plays a brilliant pass through to Haaland – and the Norwegian outfoxes Bornauw before firing into the top left corner from a tight angle.
6-1 Baku (81’): Substitute Felix Nmecha is denied by BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel one-on-one, but Baku picks up the rebound and slams the ball into the right corner.
Coaches’ reaction
Florian Kohfeldt: “It was a dismal performance in the first half in every regard, and we deserved to be 5-0 down at half-time. In the second half, we at least managed to make it a bit more of an even contest – against opponents who luckily for us didn’t keep the tempo from the first half as high. That was a really bad display from us. We have to concentrate on getting the two more wins we need to stay in the league, so from tomorrow we’ll start focusing on Mainz.”
Marco Rose: “It was a deserved win. We played very dominant and good football, reacted well to losing possession and didn’t give anything away. We were incisive, showed flair and scored nice goals. Then in the second half, our job was obviously to see the game through in front of a full stadium, which wasn’t as easy with so many substitutions, but overall we gave the fans a nice Easter Saturday.”
Line-ups and stats
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel – Can, Akanji (65‘ Pongracic), Zagadou – Wolf (88’ Semic), Witsel (78’ Reinier), Bellingham, Rothe (88’ Bynoe-Gittens) – Reus, Brandt (65’ Moukoko) – Haaland
Subs: Hitz (GK), N. Schulz, Papadopoulos
VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Lacroix (45’ Mbabu), Bornauw, Brooks – Baku, Schlager (62’ Vranckx), Arnold, Gerhardt, Wind (82‘ Bialek), Kruse (46’ Roussillon) – L. Nmecha (62‘ F. Nmecha)
Subs: Pervan (GK), Philipp, Steffen, Lukebakio
Goals: 1-0 Rothe (24’), 2-0 Witsel (26’), 3-0 Akanji (28’), 4-0 Can (34’), 5-0 Haaland (38’), 6-0 Haaland (54’), 6-1 Baku (81’)
Yellow cards: - / Baku, Gerhardt
Referee: Robert Schröder (Hannover)
Attendance: 79,200 at Signal Iduna Park.
