Guerreiro, Hakimi score as Dortmund beat 10-man Wolfsburg to close gap at the top

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:16 am

Raphael Guerreiro and Achraf Hakimi scored in each half as Borussia Dortmund closed the gap to Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga with a 2-0 victory at Wolfsburg on Saturday.

Dortmund were comfortable throughout and got an impressive cameo from Jadon Sancho off the bench, while United States youngster Giovanni Reyna also came on, but defender Mats Hummels was taken off at half-time with an achilles problem that could keep him out of Tuesday's game against Bayern.

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Before kickoff, both teams held a minute silence for all the victims of the pandemic and there was little quality on show for the majority of the first half until Dortmund took the lead after 32 minutes when Thorgan Hazard cut the ball for Guerreiro to score his third goal in two matches.

Dortmund should have doubled their lead just before the break but an unmarked Hazard missed from just outside of the area, while the hosts had a great chance to equalise early in the second half, but Renato Steffen clipped his shot over the bar when through on goal.

Dortmund enjoyed a comfortable win at Wolfsburg before their title clash against Bayern Munich next week.
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Sancho was brought just after the hour mark on and helped BVB score a second as he produced his 16th assist of the season to set up Hakimi with 12 minutes remaining. The England international becomes the first Bundesliga player to be involved in 30 goals this season.

Wolfsburg have now lost five consecutive home games to Dortmund and ended this encounter with 10 men after VAR intervention saw substitute Felix Klaus shown a straight red card for stepping on Manuel Akanji.

Dortmund have won their last six league games, but ahead of the Bayern showdown will sweat on the fitness of Hummels, who was making his 250th league appearance for the club. 

"He's been experiencing problems with his Achilles tendon for some time, but we hope he'll be able to play again on Tuesday," sporting director Michael Zorc said after the game.