Borussia Dortmund claimed a 1-0 (1-0) away victory in Wolfsburg on Matchday 10 of the Bundesliga season, cementing their place at the top of the table and extending their unbeaten run to 15 competitive matches.

Boris Rupert reporting from Wolfsburg

The 30,000 spectators − including more than 6,000 Black & Yellows − at a sold-out Volkswagen Arena saw BVB go ahead on the half-hour mark courtesy of Marco Reus' sixth goal of the season. The visitors defended their narrow lead for the remainder of what was a pulsating match to claim a victory that makes Lucien Favre the first-ever BVB coach to avoid defeat in his first 15 competitive games in charge.

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The scenario: 
Since losing the 2015 DFB Cup final, Borussia Dortmund had not lost any of their six Bundesliga matches against Wolfsburg (W5 D1). The Wolves, meanwhile, had only won two of their previous 14 home league games stretching back into last season.

Personnel matters: 
Favre decided to draw on the depth of his squad and made nine changes to the team that started the 3-2 win over Union Berlin in the DFB Cup, with Hakimi and Zagadou the only players to keep their places. Akanji made his comeback in place of Diallo, who has a groin strain and joined Götze (bronchitis), Piszczek (bruised knee) and Schmelzer (bone marrow oedema in knee) in the treatment room. Toljan made the squad for the first time this season.

Tactics:  
Wolfsburg lined up in a 4-3-3 formation. But rather than fielding two more offensive midfielders, the Wolves operated with three defensive midfielders (Rexhbecaj, Arnold and Gerhardt) when BVB had the ball. That meant that the Black & Yellows, who lined up in their usual 4-2-3-1 system, had hardly any space in the opposition half, where nine Wolfsburg outfield players were packed into a corridor of less than 10 metres to keep space as tight as possible. Only Weghorst was given the freedom to play a little further forward, but he was joined in attack by Gerhardt when the hosts had possession. Ginczek and Brekalo played out wide.

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The match & analysis:
One passage of play aside, Dortmund dealt comfortably with the sporadic attacks from their hosts but struggled to break down their compact defence, meaning that goalmouth action was scarce in the first half. Brooks almost turned the ball into his own net with a risky clearance in the third minute, but it was not until the 27th minute that the breakthrough finally came. It started when Reus played the ball out to Sancho on the left flank and the English youngster crossed the ball towards Delaney, whose header set up Reus to nod home. The captain created another opportunity on the stroke of half-time when he cut the ball back to Guerreiro, whose shot from five metres was blocked (45).

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The second half began in significantly livelier fashion − in part down to Wolfsburg, who got the ball forward at much greater speed without leaving themselves excessively exposed in defence. But there was a good counter-attacking opportunity soon after the restart for Sancho, which Roussillon did well to clear (52). At the other end, long-range efforts from Arnold (58) and Steffen (72) threatened the BVB goal for the first time.

Dortmund controlled the game, setting up camp in the opposition half and moving the ball about well. That said, there were one or two too many sideways passes rather than attempts to play themselves into shooting positions with purpose. Wolfsburg then enjoyed a resurgence and pressed for the equaliser, but Bruun Larsen came close to making it 2-0 when he curled the ball centimetres past the far post after winning it back (79).

There was a final hearts-in-mouth moments on 87 minutes when Arnold's inswinging free-kick from the right flank sailed centimetres wide of the upright (87).

All the goals and all the highlights at a click

Outlook: 
Borussia Dortmund could book their place in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages when they face Atlético Madrid on Wednesday evening. That game will be followed by a top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash with Bayern Munich at Signal Iduna Park next Saturday evening.

Teams & goals