Serhou Guirassy strikes late as Borussia Dortmund beat Wolfsburg to pile pressure on leaders Bayern Munich
Serhou Guirassy scored a late winner for the second game running as Niko Kovač's side overcame Wolfsburg to cut the gap to Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich to just three points.
Wolfsburg 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
Goals: 0-1 Brandt 38’ (assist: Ryerson), 1-1 Koulierakis 52’ (assist: Arnold), 1-2 Guirassy 87’ (assist: Silva)
Kovač’s side had trailed Bayern by 11 points in mid-January, but a run of four straight top-flight victories - coupled with the Bavarians’ dip in form - meant victory for Borussia at the Volkswagen Arena would increase the pressure on Vincent Kompany’s charges of their clash against in-form Hoffenheim at the Allianz Arena on Sunday.
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, began the day just a point above the relegation play-off place after picking up only four points from their five games since the turn of the year. Indeed, their overall tally of 19 points was their lowest-ever haul after 20 games of a top-flight campaign.
The home side began brightly and nearly took the lead when Mohamed Amoura burst through on goal following a Waldemar Anton error, only to poke his effort wide with only Gregor Kobel to beat.
Wolfsburg suffered an early setback, though, when Kilian Fischer limped off injured after 17 minutes, with 18-year-old Jan Bürger coming on in his stead. Dortmund gradually took control of proceedings after that and went close to a breakthrough in the 32nd minute, when Maximilian Beier struck the crossbar after excellent work from Julian Ryerson.
The opener came six minutes later when Julian Brandt met Ryerson's corner with a clever near-post header, which flew past Kamil Grabara and into the net to give Borussia a 1-0 lead at the break.
Wolfsburg emerged with renewed intensity after the interval and drew level in the 52nd minute, when Konstantinos Koulierakis rose powerfully to head home Maximilian Arnold's teasing free-kick.
The equaliser shifted momentum to the hosts, with Amoura missing several good opportunities to complete the turnaround for the hosts - including a one-on-one with Kobel, who did well to parry the Algerian's goal-bound effort wide.
Substitute Lovro Majer struck the crossbar with a looping header in the 80th minute as Wolfsburg pushed for a winner, but Dortmund restored their lead against the run of play with three minutes remaining. A slick interchange between Felix Nmecha and Fabio Silva created space for Guirassy, who finished clinically from close range to pile the pressure on Bayern ahead of Sunday's highly anticipated clash in Munich.
Man of the Match: Julian Brandt
Brandt delivered a match-winning performance at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday afternoon. His perfectly timed, near-post header from Ryerson's corner gave Dortmund a crucial first-half lead, but the Germany international was just as instrumental in his team's build-up play.
Brandt repeatedly found space between Wolfsburg's midfield and defensive lines, launching several Dortmund attacks with eye-of-the-needle passes. His display earned him 31 percent of the votes in the Man of the Match poll.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Wolfsburg 1.83 - Dortmund 1.87
Fastest player: Adam Daghim (Wolfsburg), 35.8 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 0-1 by Julian Brandt (Dortmund), 3.6 percent
Most pressed player: Felix Nmecha (Dortmund), 22 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Niklas Süle (Dortmund), +4.09
Fantasy Heroes: Nico Schlotterbeck (Dortmund, 386 Points), Felix Nmecha (Dortmund, 287 Points), Serhou Guirassy (Dortmund, 275 Points)
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