Borussia Dortmund remain hot on Bayern's heels! With three days to go before the clubs go head to head at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday, BVB have narrowed the gap at the summit to one point with a 2-0 (1-0) victory at VfL Wolfsburg courtesy of goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Achraf Hakimi. The men from Munich face Eintracht Frankfurt this evening.

Dortmund initially dictated proceedings, only allowed their opponents one moment of danger in the box in the first period and took the lead through a brilliantly well-worked Guerreiro goal in the 32nd minute. But the momentum shifted in the early stages of the second period as Wolfsburg piled on the pressure, and the points were only sealed when Hakimi rounded off a counter-attack to make it 2-0 with eight minutes to go.

The scenario: 
Sixth-placed VfL Wolfsburg, who were on a seven-match unbeaten run (W4 D3), were up against second-placed Borussia Dortmund. The Black & Yellows had won eight of their nine matches in the second half of the season and had not lost against the Wolves in any of their nine Bundesliga meetings (W8 D1) since their 2015 DFB Cup final defeat.

Personnel matters: 
Lucien Favre opted to field the same starting XI that thrashed Schalke 04 a week ago. Can and Reyna returned to the squad but began on the bench. The injured quartet of Reus, Zagadou, Witsel and Schulz remained unavailable. Wolfsburg's Otavio dropped out at the last minute and was replaced in the left-back berth by Roussillon.

Tactics:  
Wolfsburg started in a 4-4-2 formation with two centre-forwards (Ginczek and Weghorst) for the first time since their 2-2 draw at Union Berlin on Matchday 24. Mehmedi, who had occupied the central attacking midfield role in their previous 4-2-3-1 system, shifted over to the left flank. Steffen, Wolfsburg's highest scorer in 2020 with five goals, started on the right. Borussia lined up in their usual 3-4-3 system with Hazard and Brandt flanking Haaland, the only centre-forward by trade in the BVB XI. Dahoud and Delaney continued their defensive midfield partnership.

The match & analysis:
Dortmund dominated the opening half and, aside from a short spell around the 25-minute mark, pressed the Wolves back into their own half. Wolfsburg were compact in their 4-4-2 formation, and it was not until the 16th minute that Hazard fired the first shot of the match wide from 16 metres out. BVB were in full control of what was a fair game (there were only eight fouls in the first half) but showed they could defend with lots of men behind the ball when necessary – perhaps best exemplified by Hazard's sprint back towards his own box to beat a Wolfsburg player to the ball after 14 minutes. BVB registered 75 percent possession and three times as many passes as their opponents (159-50) in the opening 20 minutes, but Wolfsburg were handed a brief reprieve in the minutes that followed.

The deserved opening goal came around the half-hour mark when Brandt outmanoeuvred two opponents with a feint over on the right flank. Hakimi played the ball towards Hazard, who cut it back towards Haaland in the six-yard box. The Norway international slipped over but Guerreiro was on hand to slot the ball into an empty net for his eighth goal of the season. It was Borussia Dortmund's 73rd goal of the campaign – an average of 2.75 per game. Shortly before the interval, Hazard received a ball from Hakimi but spurned the chance to extend the lead by firing wide.

Hummels was forced to remain in the changing rooms after the break due to a minor foot problem, with Can taking over his place at the heart of defence. The Wolves had an incredible chance to restore parity barely two minutes after the restart, but Steffen's shot brushed the frame of the goal.

Wolfsburg were now looking much more aggressive, and their imposing style drew more mistakes from the Black & Yellows, whose passing was much less accurate than it had been in the first half. The men from Lower Saxony clearly dominated the first 30 minutes of the second period, with Bürki again required to intervene to deny Steffen a possible equaliser in the 62nd minute.

Two wide men, Brekalo and Klaus, replaced centre-forward Ginczek and left-back Roussillon in the closing stages. BVB, meanwhile, who were still on the back foot, brought on Sancho for Brandt. The Black & Yellows did not have a second-half shot until Guerreiro's in the 71st minute. But the lead was eventually doubled eight minutes from time when Dahoud won the ball back and fed Sancho, who carried it half the length of the field before teeing up the onrushing Hakimi, who notched his fourth goal of the season from a tight angle. That goal – together with Klaus' dismissal – ultimately swung the game in the visitors' favour.

Outlook: 
The campaign continues on Tuesday when Borussia Dortmund welcome Bayern Munich to Signal Iduna Park for their Matchday 28 meeting. Kick-off is at 18:30 CET. That mammoth clash will be followed by a trip to SC Paderborn next Sunday.
Boris Rupert

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