bundesliga

Marco Reus to the rescue as Borussia Dortmund beat stubborn Wolfsburg

24.09.2023

Marco Reus scored the only goal of the game as Borussia Dortmund overcame a stubborn Wolfsburg side to continue their unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season.

Dortmund 1-0 Wolfsburg
Goals: 1-0 Reus 69' (assist: Brandt)

Dortmund have not yet been at their best in 2023/24 and, despite dominating the opening exchanges, struggled to create any chances of note against a well-organised Wolfsburg side. Reus had the first sight of goal with a free-kick from the edge of the area that Koen Casteels saved and Salih Özcan drilled over in a half of few chances. The Wolves were happy to sit deep and pounce on the counter, although they only had one such opportunity that ended with Tiago Tomás' first-time drive being pawed clear by Gregor Kobel.

BVB remained the dominant force in the second half, driven forward by the lively Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. Now playing with a greater sense of urgency, Edin Terzic's side began to find gaps in the Wolfsburg defence. Mats Hummels played a sublime outside-of-the-boot pass for Niclas Füllkrug, who was thwarted at the last second, before Reus miscued his shot following a pass from Brandt. The latter duo eventually combined to break the deadlock though, with substitute Donyell Malen doing well to wriggle free in the middle and spreading the ball out to the left to Brandt, whose low cross into the middle was swept into the far corner by Reus. Jonas Wind almost silenced the Signal Iduna Park crowd shortly afterwards when he was given space to shoot from the edge of the box, but his effort fizzed wide of the post as BVB held on for their third league win of the season.

Watch: Edin Terzic discusses Reus' importance to Dortmund after Wolfsburg win

Match stats

Füllkrug made his first start for Dortmund, with Sebastien Haller on the bench in the Bundesliga for the first time since February.
Ramy Bensebaini made his 100th Bundesliga appearance in this game.
Gio Reyna was included in a Dortmund matchday squad for the first time this season.
Reus' goal means Dortmund have now scored at least once in 54 consecutive Bundesliga home games, extending their club record.
Brandt has been directly involved in more goals this season than any otherr Dortmund player (one scored, three assists).
Felix Nmecha registered three goals and five assists in 46 Bundesliga games for Wolfsburg, before moving to Dortmund in the summer.

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Teams

Dortmund: Kobel (c) - Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini - F. Nmecha, Özcan, Reus (Can 83') – Bynoe-Gittens (Malen 63'), Füllkrug (Haller 78'), Brandt
Unused subs: Meyer, Süle, Wolf, Reyna, Moukoko, Adeyemi
Out: Meunier (hamstring), Morey (knee), Sabitzer (groin)
Coach: Edin Terzic

Wolfsburg: Casteels - Maehle, Lacroix, Jenz, Rogerio - Svanberg (Vranckx 78'), Arnold (c) - Černý (Kaminski 65'), Majer (Wimmer 88'), Tomás (Baku 77') – Wind (Sarr 78')
Unused subs: Pervan, Bornauw, Zesiger, Gerhardt
Out: Fischer (knee), L. Nmecha (knee), Paredes (thigh)
Coach: Niko Kovac