Borussia Dortmund secured its first Bundesliga away win of the season on Sunday, defeating Wolfsburg 3-1 despite a late red card for Pascal Groß.
Dortmund opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Donyell Malen volleyed in from a corner. Just three minutes later, Julian Brandt set up Maximilian Beier, who scored with a deft shot off the outside of his boot that struck the left post. Beier celebrated with a throwing-dart gesture.
Beier then assisted Brandt for Dortmund’s third goal two minutes later. However, despite their commanding lead, Dortmund struggled to maintain control as Wolfsburg improved significantly in the second half.
Wolfsburg coach Ralph Hasenhüttl made two substitutions at halftime, including introducing Lukas Nmecha to face his brother, Felix Nmecha, who was playing for Dortmund.
Denis Vavro pulled one back for Wolfsburg in the 58th minute, shortly before Groß was sent off for a foul on Lukas Nmecha as he advanced on goal. The home side pushed hard for an equalizer, but Dortmund managed to hold on, easing the pressure on coach Nuri Sahin.
“A 3-0 lead should mean you can get through the game with confidence,” Brandt said, expressing concern over the team’s drop in performance. “We’re to blame for that. It’s not good; we need to play more confidently and maturely.” With this victory, Dortmund climbed to sixth place ahead of the league’s winter break, a position below the club’s aspirations after a shaky start to the season.
“We’ll try to reset and play better in the new year,” Beier added. “It can’t be our goal to be sixth.”
In other Bundesliga action, bottom club Bochum claimed its first win of the season, defeating relegation rival Heidenheim 2-0.
“When we play like we did today, it means there are plenty of possibilities for the next 19 games,” said Bochum coach Dieter Hecking. “I’m also glad we won because I couldn’t have handled many more games without a victory.”
Heidenheim, meanwhile, suffered its seventh consecutive Bundesliga defeat, a result of a challenging schedule following their European qualification last season and the offseason departures of key players like Jan-Niklas Beste, Tim Kleindienst, and Eren Dinkci.
“We’ve reached the end of another ‘English week’ with midweek games,” Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt said. “Everyone did their best, but we have to be honest—it wasn’t enough.”
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