Wolfsburg 1 Borussia Dortmund 5: Tuchel´s men go goal crazy again

Borussia Dortmund took their tally to 17 goals in three matches with a 5-1 thumping of Wolfsburg to climb to the Bundesliga’s summit.

Thomas Tuchel’s side came into this meeting at the Volkswagen Arena having beaten both Legia Warsaw and Darmstadt 6-0, and they tore apart a Wolfsburg defence that had not conceded a goal this season prior to Tuesday’s clash.

Raphael Guerreiro’s fourth-minute opener came as he slotted home following a slide-rule pass from Marc Bartra – whose participation was ended shortly afterwards by an apparent groin injury.

And Guerreiro then turned provider for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who showcased his clinical finishing skills to claim his first of the night in the 16th minute.

Two Wolfsburg half-time substitutes, Paul Seguin and Daniel Didavi, combined for the latter to haul the hosts back into it soon after the restart, but any hope was soon dashed by two quickfire Dortmund goals.

Gonzalo Castro was brought on at the break and he played a key role, first squaring for Ousmane Dembele to tap home and then teeing up Aubameyang for his second, with Lukasz Piszczek heading in the fifth from a Guerreiro corner.

Portugal international Guerreiro was excellent throughout and it was he who benefited from a superb Bartra pass to break the deadlock, his low effort taking a slight deflection off Vieirinha and beating Koen Casteels at his near post.

Wolfsburg ought to have levelled four minutes later when former Dortmund attacker Jakub Blaszczykowski jinked his way into the box and set up Bruno Henrique, who could only shoot tamely at Roman Burki from close range.

Dortmund then lost Bartra, but took that setback in their stride, doubling their lead as Aubameyang ran onto Guerreiro’s flick, easily rounded Philipp Wollscheid and curled a precise finish beyond Casteels.

The Wolfsburg goalkeeper prevented a third by smothering the ball at the feet of Marcel Schmelzer and, as the end-to-end nature of the game continued apace, Yannick Gerhardt and Maximilian Arnold both blazed wastefully over for the hosts.

Burki was called into action twice in as many minutes towards the end of the first half, denying Mario Gomez one-on-one before parrying away Ricardo Rodriguez’s 20-yard free-kick.

The hosts continued to pose a threat and somehow failed to reduce the arrears in the 50th minute, Julian Draxler denied by Burki at point-blank range before Gomez stabbed the rebound against the post from less than a yard.

They did not have to wait long, however, as Seguin crossed for Didavi to convert.

But five minutes later, Dortmund restored their two-goal advantage as the influential Guerreiro released Castro, who squared unselfishly for Dembele and the former Rennes striker had the simplest of tasks for his first Bundesliga goal.

It was 4-1 in no time as once again Castro broke free and set up Aubameyang to slide home a simple finish, before Piszczek glanced in Guerreiro’s corner unmarked in the 73rd minute to cap another resounding win.

Key Opta stats:

– After six unbeaten competitive games in a row, Wolfsburg lost for the first time since April 2016, when they were beaten in Dortmund.

– Aubameyang scored two of his last three braces in Bundesliga against Wolfsburg.

– In seven competitive matches, Castro has been involved in eight goals this season (three goals, five assists) – more than any other Dortmund player.

– A total of 14 different players have scored for Dortmund in competitive games 2016-17.