After putting in an excellent defensive display in which they restricted Dortmund to only a couple of real chances, the Wolves looked like they were going to bring back a hard-fought and deserved point home from Signal Iduna Park. However, a late brace from Paco Alcácer meant they left empty-handed. Next up for Bruno Labbadia’s men is a home game against Hannover 96 on Saturday 6 April (kick-of 15:30 CEST).
Klaus recalled, Ginczek back in squad
Labbadia made a solitary change to the side that started the 5-2 win at home to Fortuna Düsseldorf two weeks ago, with Felix Klaus preferred to Josip Brekalo in attack. There was also a pleasing return to the bench for striker Daniel Ginczek, who had been sidelined since the winter break with a torn ankle ligament. Meanwhile, Dortmund were without their influential captain Marco Reus, who was attending the birth of his first child.
Weghorst goes close
VfL kept things tight in the early stages while also looking to get forward themselves. It was 20 minutes before the hosts properly threatened, as Mario Götze’s cross from the right was headed over by Alcácer from close range. Despite Dortmund having the lion’s share of the possession, it was the Wolves who went closest to breaking the deadlock in the 28th minute when Wout Weghorst’s shot from the edge of the area took a slight deflection and forced Roman Bürki into an impressive flying save. The pressure from the home side did increase as the break approached – without Koen Casteels being called into action – but the first half ended goalless.
Injury-time brace breaks hearts
It was a similar story after the restart, with the Wolves content to sit back and look for opportunities on the counter. It took Dortmund until the 62nd minute for them to test Casteels for the first time, Jadon Sancho forcing the VfL goalkeeper into a smart save at his near post. The Black and Yellows continued to pile on the pressure and they finally managed to break the Wolves’ resistance in stoppage time. There was more than a hint of good fortune about the first goal, with Alcácer firing home via a deflection after a disputable free-kick. Subsequently, the Spaniard sealed the result with the last kick of the game.
Borussia Dortmund: Bürki – Wolf, Akanji, Zagadou, Diallo (Hakimi 49’, Bruun Larsen 74’) – Witsel, Delaney – Guerreiro, Götze (Dahour 81’), Sancho – Alcácer
VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – William, Brooks, Knoche, Roussillon – Arnold, Gerhardt, Guilavogui – Mehmedi (Ginczek 81’), Klaus (Steffen 68’) – Weghorst
Goals: Alcácer (90+1’), Alcácer (90+4’)
Yellow cards: - / Brooks, Arnold, William
Attendance: 81,365
Referee: Markus Schmidt (Stuttgart)
