Wolfsburg 0-1 Dortmund: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Marco Reus Maintain BVB's Title Credentials
Borussia Dortmund maintained their brilliant form this season by securing a hard-fought 1-0 win over a stubborn VfL Wolfsburg side on Saturday.
It wasn't a vintage performance from Lucien Favre's team, but the result has confirmed that the club's new head coach has remained unbeaten in his first 15 games in charge - surpassing Thomas Tuchel's record of 14 matches without defeat.
Borussia Dortmund endured a frustrating opening 20 minutes before finally taking the lead through Marco Reus. The Germany international was unmarked in the penalty and was able to easily nod home Thomas Delaney's misplaced header.
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Maximilian Arnold wasn't far away from levelling the scoreline shortly after half time with a long-range effort on his wand of a left foot, but it was Dortmund who actually came the closest to scoring through Jacob Bruun Larsen.
Neither side were able to add to the scoreline in the second half, and Borussia Dortmund's narrow win has ensured that they have returned to the top of the Bundesliga table for another week.
Borussia Dortmund
Key Talking Point
Borussia Dortmund weren't at their best during their trip to the Volkswagen Arena, but coming away from Lower Saxony with all three points proved to be a brilliant sign of the club's title credentials this season.
Star forward Paco Alcácer was marked out of the game by Wolfsburg's John Brooks and Marcel Tisserand, limiting the number of options that Saturday's visitors had in the final third.
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Rather than becoming frustrated, however, Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus took on more responsibility and made the difference with the extra half a yard that they were being offered in the attack.
Player Ratings
Bürki (7) Hakimi (6) Akanji (8) Zagadou (8*) Guerreiro (6) Witsel (7) Delaney (7) Sancho (7) Reus (8) Bruun Larsen (7) Alcácer (6).
Substitutes: Pulisic (7) Philipp (6) Toprak (N/A).
Star Man
Both Dan-Axel Zagadou and Manuel Akanji could stake a claim as Borussia Dortmund's star man on Saturday, but solely because of his improvement over the last season, it will be the former Paris Saint-Germain star who gets the recognition he deserves.
Zagadou looked like Bambi on ice during his early career as a Borussia Dortmund player, but the 19-year-old has completely transformed under Lucien Favre and is now in contention to start for the Westphalian side every week.
The teenager has a stunning combination of pace and power which even Wolfsburg's Daniel Ginczek and Wout Weghorst couldn't match. Zagadou offered Borussia Dortmund the platform control large parts of the game, something which was largely the deciding factor on Saturday.
Worst Player
It was just one of those days for Paco Alcácer.
Knowing full well of the threat that the Barcelona loanee has, Wolfsburg man marked Alcácer out of the game and didn't afford the Spain international any space whatsoever to move in to.
The 25-year-old hardly put a foot wrong at the Volkswagen Arena, but it was a frustrating afternoon of few touches and even fewer chances.
VfL Wolfsburg
Player Ratings
Casteels (7) William (6) Tisserand (7) Brooks (6) Roussillon (7) Rexhbecaj (5) Arnold (6) Gerhardt (7) Ginczek (5) Brekalo (6) Weghorst (7).
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Substitutes: Steffen (6) Yeboah (6) Malli (6)
Looking Ahead
Borussia Dortmund will now look ahead to their Champions League match against Atlético Madrid hopeful of a repeat from the last time that the two sides met just a fortnight ago.
VfL Wolfsburg meanwhile will take part in the Bundesliga's upcoming Friday night match against Hannover 96 in desperate need of three points.
