Jadon Sancho impresses but Borussia Dortmund held by Wolfsburg
Jadon Sancho and Borussia Dortmund could find no way past a determined Wolfsburg on Sunday evening, as Matchday 18's final game ended goalless at the SIGNAL Iduna Park.
Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Wolfsburg
Star man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was not involved for the home side due to disciplinary reasons - Dortmund head coach Peter Stöger later confirmed this was due to him missing a team meeting - so in his place, two teenagers – Englishman Sancho and Swede Alexander Isak – were handed full Bundesliga debuts. Andriy Yarmolenko missed his first, but not last, excellent chance from close range, while Wolfsburg showed their own attacking intent when Daniel Didavi drew a smart stop from Roman Bürki after a neat flick from Yunus Malli. Dortmund did get the crowd on their feet shortly before the interval when Isak poked a shot against the upright after neat work from Mario Götze.
Dortmund emerged a different team after the break, starting with a gorgeous counter-attack that somehow ended with Yarmolenko blazing over from eight yards, before Sancho then hit the woodwork from a tight angle. Yarmolenko skewed another shot off target soon after, while the Wolves retained a threat themselves and Malli was a constant menace, but Roman Bürki saved well from Divock Origi and William efforts. There was still time for Sancho to have one more effort charged down and Schürrle to volley wide, but without Aubameyang, Dortmund came up short.
Line-ups
Borussia Dortmund: Bürki - Piszczek, Sokratis, Toprak, Toljan - Weigl, Kagawa - Yarmolenko (Sahin 78'), Götze (Dahoud 56'), Sancho - Isak (Schürrle 68')
Unused subs: Weidenfeller, Zagadou, Castro, Durm
Coach: Peter Stöger
Wolfsburg: Casteels – Verhaegh (c), Uduokhai, Tisserand, William - Arnold, Guilavogui - Brekalo, Didavi (Steffen 64'), Malli – Origi
Unused subs: Grün, Dimata, Gerhardt, Osimhen, Jung, Knoche
Coach: Martin Schmidt
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Match stats
- Renato Steffen became the 6,000th player to appear in the Bundesliga.Before this game, Wolfsburg had lost their fast five Bundesliga games against Dortmund, conceding 18 goals.Wolfsburg’s Yunus Malli and Daniel Didavi have scored four and five Bundesliga goals respectively this season, but neither player has ever recorded a win over Dortmund.Before this encounter, at least three goals were scored in the last 14 meetings between these sides, at an average of more than four goals per game.Andre Schürrle registered 13 goals and 10 assists in 63 appearances in all competitions for Wolfsburg, before joining Dortmund in summer 2016.Nuri Sahin became the youngest player of all time to appear in the Bundesliga in Dortmund’s 2-2 draw with Wolfsburg on 6 August 2005.Only record champions Bayern Munich have picked up more points than Borussia Dortmund (170) in the last two years.
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