VfL Wolfsburg has done excellent business in the Bundesliga. The team of coach Oliver Glasner was far too strong for VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday, partly thanks to a goal from Wout Weghorst, and thus takes a step closer to participating in the Champions League: 0-3. The lead over number five Borussia Dortmund, which simultaneously won 2-0 against 1.FC Union Berlin, remains five points. In the lower regions, 1. FSV Mainz 05 won against direct competitor Werder Bremen, which is only four points above the red line.
VfB Stuttgart – VfL Wolfsburg 0-3
Wolfsburg took the lead in the thirteenth minute, when Xaver Schlager picked up a falling ball and brushed in from the edge of the penalty area: 0-1. A handball by John Brooks earned Stuttgart a penalty a little later. Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels took the penalty kick from Philipp Forster, who mowed the free rebound. Two minutes later, Weghorst made it 0-2 with a hovering header from a cross by Josip Brekalo. With that, the center forward signed for his twentieth goal of the season.
The 20th of the season for Wout Weghorst! ?? ?? ESPN #? #vfbwob pic.twitter.com/xTk0VrpJWR
– ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) April 21, 2021
Twenty minutes after the break, the game was decided by Yannick Gerhardt, who curled the ball from fifteen meters into the intersection: 0-3. In injury time, Stuttgart made an honorary hit with the necessary luck. Gonzalo Castro’s long shot was diverted by teammate Marin Pongracic and sent Casteels to the wrong corner: 1-3. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was nine years ago the last Dutchman until Wednesday to score at least twenty goals in the Bundesliga. Huntelaar was the top scorer in Germany at the time with 29 goals. Roy Makaay makes at least twenty goals in the Bundesliga twice: in 2004 (23) and 2005 (22).
Borussia Dortmund – 1. FC Union Berlin 2-0
The game might have ended very differently if Marcus Ingvartsen had aimed the ball a little lower after twelve seconds (!). After Emre Can lost the ball, the midfielder shot the ball against the bottom of the crossbar. Borussia Dortmund woke up immediately, got stronger and eventually needed a penalty kick to take the lead. After a foul by goalkeeper Andreas Luthe on Marco Reus, referee Daniel Schlager pointed to the spot. Luthe then turned Erling Braut Haaland’s eleven-meter stairs in the right corner. The Norwegian produced a roll in the rebound and the ball eventually went in via Reus: 1-0.
A larger lead for Dortmund after the break was delayed for a long time. A bet by Giovanni Reyna was too high and so was an attempt by Haaland fifteen minutes before the end. After good preparatory work by the good substitute Jadon Sancho and Reus, the Norwegian aimed the ball over Luthe’s goal. In the final phase, the 2-0 still appeared on the scoreboard. After Robert Andrich lost the ball, the home team countered and Raphaël Guerreiro was the final station: 2-0. Sheraldo Becker was still missing from the visitors due to injuries.
TSG Hoffenheim – Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2
The teams of Sebastien Hoeness and Marco Rose were evenly matched in the first half and the home side was even more dangerous. However, the visit was deadly efficient. Twice they turned up for the goal of Oliver Baumann and twice it was hit: first via Alassane Plé and then via Valentin Lazaro. The double lead disappeared very quickly after the break, however, because the home team was at least as efficient until the 65th minute: Andrej Kramaric took the 1-2 and the 2-3 and in between Ihlas Bebou also hit. That was enough for Hoffenheim’s first win, where Melayro Bogarde remained on the bench for ninety minutes since March 6.
Werder Bremen – 1. FSV Mainz 05 0-1
The visit, which started with Jeremiah St. Juste and Jean-Paul Boëtius in the starting eleven, won thanks to a goal in the sixteenth minute. After a swift breakout, Karim Onisiwo ran into keeper Jirí Pavlenka, after which Ádám Szalai struck in the rebound. Just before half-time, Werder thought he would come alongside, but a goal from Joshua Sargent was disallowed. In the eyes of the arbitration, Kevin Möhwald committed a foul in the run-up to the goal, by tapping the ball away from keeper Robin Zentner, who had no control over it. After the break, Werder came close to the equalizer via Johannes Eggestein, but it stayed at 0-1.