VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

Updated: May 17, 2023, 06:16 am

Wolfsburg remain on course for the runners-up spot in the Bundesliga after dealing Borussia Dortmund a blow in their European qualification hopes with a 2-1 win at the VW-Arena.

Daniel Caligiuri and Naldo scored quick goals at the start of the first and second halves with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's strike in between too little for Dortmund.

The win will also be a psychological boost for Wolfsburg ahead of their DFB-Pokal final meeting with Jurgen Klopp's side in Berlin at the end of the month, leaving Dortmund needing to beat Werder Bremen on the final day of the season to qualify for Europe via their league position.

Wolfsburg made a dream start with Kevin De Bruyne setting up Caligiuri to give them the lead inside the first minute.

Naldo celebrates his winner against Borussia Dortmund.
Ronny Hartmann/Bongarts/Getty Images

It was the Belgian's 21st assist of the season, earning him a new Bundesliga record and underlining the contribution he has made to their qualification for a place in the Champions League next season.

Dortmund needed just 10 minutes to level, though, with Aubameyang converting from the penalty spot after Diego Benaglio was punished for a foul on Kevin Kampl.

Bas Dost could have restored the hosts' advantage and earned De Bruyne another assist when he was put through on goal, but Mitchell Langerak denied him.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan set up Aubameyang for a diving header that the Gabon international could not get on target as both sides pushed for a second, making for an entertaining game.

The second half started with another quick goal from the hosts, although not quite as quick as in the first half.

Four minutes were required for Naldo to drill a low shot past Langerak, confirming his status as one of the Bundesliga's most prolific defenders - together with his team-mate Ricardo Rodriguez.

Langerak made a save from Caligiuri before Klopp sent Marco Reus into action for the first time in three weeks.

The pace of the game subsequently dropped with Dortmund doing too little to threaten Wolfsburg's win, almost as if they had already decided to save energy for the cup final - arguably the one game between these two sides they want to win the most.