BVB move up to third with 3-0 win over Wolfsburg

Dennis-Julian Gottschlich reports

The 56,906 spectators at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK witnessed BVB dominate from the outset. But despite creating a spate of outstanding chances in the opening stages, the hosts did not break the deadlock until the 20-minute mark, when an own goal by Bruma handed them a deserved lead. Piszczek (48) and Dembélé (59) added a second and third after the interval to round off a comfortable victory for the Black and Yellows.

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The scenario:
Ten points and 12 places separated the 2016 and 2015 vice champions, who before kick-off occupied fourth and 14th spots in the table respectively. BVB had won all three games against Wolfsburg under Thomas Tuchel's leadership, including 5-1 victories in the last two meetings.

Personnel matters:
Thomas Tuchel, who was without Götze (muscular problems), Sokratis (infection), Bender (torn lateral collateral ligament) and Rode (groin injury), made three changes to the starting XI that faced Benfica in Lisbon. Ginter, Schürrle and Castro replaced Sokratis, Guerreiro and Durm. VfL Wolfsburg were without Azzaoui (torn cruciate ligament), Guilavogui (calf injury), Möbius (adductor problems) and Osimhen (knee injury) for the trip south-west.

Tactics:
Tuchel opted for a tactical reshuffle that saw his charges line up in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Weigl sitting behind an offensive midfield quartet of Schürrle (right), Dembélé, Castro and Reus. When the hosts lost possession, Schürrle would drop deep and slot into the defensive rearguard. The Wolves took to the field in a 3-6-1 system which, in reality, was more of a back five in a highly defensive setup. Arnold, Seguin und Gerhardt formed a flat midfield three, though often switched positions, while Malli sat just behind Gomez in the centre-forward berth.

The match & analysis:
From the outset the Black and Yellows dominated the Wolves, whose passive approach allowed their hosts a lot of time and space to link up. The match was only seven minutes old when Benaglio in the Wolfsburg goal was called into action for the first time, the Swiss shot-stopper denying Aubameyang after the forward had been played in by Piszczek, before thwarting Reus' effort from 17 metres only two minutes later. In the 16th minute he made another strong save to keep out Aubameyang's attempt from inside the penalty area.

It was all plain-sailing for BVB, who were clearly winning the midfield battle while simultaneously giving nothing away at the back. After 20 minutes Reus met a cross from six metres out, only for Vierinha to turn the ball away for a corner. Reus took it short to Dembélé, whose cross was deflected up in the air and landed by the byline. Piszczek got the better of Gomez in the ensuing battle and hooked it into the six-yard box towards the hapless Bruma, who steered the ball into his own net from a completely unmarked position to put the hosts ahead.

Pisczcek doubles the advantage

Regardless of how it went in, Borussia's opener was very much deserved and the lead would have been doubled by Dembélé before the break if it had not been for Benaglio (26). Reus came close too, twice receiving the ball in promising positions (26, 35) but failing to find the back of the net. Earlier Bürki had denied the visitors a route back into the game by saving a free-kick taken by Wolfsburg's Arnold from 30 metres out (22). Three minutes before the interval, Schürrle fired a free-kick over the crossbar from 17 metres out. The last action of the first period came when Arnold fed Malli in the BVB penalty area, but the latter's curling effort sailed narrowly wide of Bürki's goal.

It was a rare foray forward for the Wolves, who never really got into the game. The hosts, meanwhile, doubled their advantage through Piszczek directly after the break when Dembélé crossed back into the box after Wolfsburg had cleared a Castro free-kick. Ginter flicked the ball on to Piszczek, whose diving header into the bottom corner put BVB 2-0 up (48). It was almost three a minute later when Dembélé's cross came back off the upright. The Black and Yellows continued to increase their dominance, Castro forcing Benaglio into a 54th-minute save before Aubameyang set up Schürrle in the box with a flick. The former Wolfsburg man was taken by surprise, though, and was not able to react in time (55).

Bürki makes strong save to deny Didavi

In the immediate aftermath Dembélé tried to play in Piszczek on the right of the box but slightly misplaced the pass. Wolfsburg were struggling to stem the tide and simply could not cope with the high-tempo approach employed by the hosts. Only rarely did they cross the halfway line, let alone threaten the BVB goal. Borussia's third was a Dembélé header from 11 metres, the Frenchman completely unmarked as he rose to meet a Piszczek cross and head into the top-right corner of the goal (59).

It was game over for the Wolves by this point, though Didavi did force Bürki into a superb save from a narrow angle on the 72-minute mark. At the other end, Bartra spurned the chance to make it four from ten metres out (75), before Pulisic came close when he headed the ball towards an empty goal from a similar distance. Unluckily for the youngster, though, the goal was disallowed by the referee with Aubameyang standing in an offside position on the goal line (76). Shortly before the final whistle, Benaglio was again put to the test from a Merino header but made another excellent save (87), as he did when Castro hit a long-range effort a minute later.

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Prospects:
Next Saturday (25 February, 15:30 CET) sees BVB travel away to SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga, before facing an away tie against Sportfreunde Lotte in the DFB Cup three days later (28 February, 20:45 CET).

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