Dortmund secures first away win in quick time
Borussia Dortmund won on the road for the first time in the Bundesliga this season thanks to three goals in five first-half minutes that secured a 3-1 win at Wolfsburg.
Donyell Malen marked his return to Dortmund's starting line-up in style, opening the scoring with a close-range volley after a corner in the 25th minute.
Maximilian Beier doubled the lead just three minutes later when his superb finish ricocheted in off the post.
The forward then set up Julian Brandt, who returned to action after a month out injured, to drill it in from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark.
The hosts pulled one back with a Denis Vavro header from a corner in the 58th minute but failed to find another even after Dortmund was reduced to 10 men four minutes later when Pascal Gross was sent off for a last-man foul on substitute Lukas Nmecha.
Dortmund moved to 25 points and sits sixth on the table, the last European spot.
Wolfsburg remains 11th with 21 points.
Prior to this game, Dortmund had picked up just two points from Bundesliga away matches this season, its worst return from its first six games on the road in 33 years – also two points in 1991-1992.
In fact, this was its first away victory since 14 April (AEDT), when it beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1, snapping an eight-match run without a win.
It had work to do after Gross's red card but triumphed in its final game of a calendar year for the first time since 2018.
Borussia Dortmund boss Nuri Sahin lamented his side's position in the league table and urged for more consistency from his side for the remainder of the season.
"There were a lot of ups and downs. It was hesitant and that's exactly what I keep telling the guys," Sahin said.
"We have to learn to be consistent. The table looks better, but it would look a lot better if we'd pulled it off against Hoffenheim.'
"A 3-0 lead should give you enough confidence to see the game out comfortably," Brandt, who returned to action after a month out injured, said.
"You can criticise us [for the second-half]. It's not good, we have to play more confidently, we have to step up."
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Beier said: "We're trying to find a reset in the new year and play better. We can't aim to be sixth."
Dortmund consistently finished in the Bundesliga top four between 2015-2016 and 2022-2023 before finishing fifth last season, 27 points behind champion Bayer Leverkusen, which it will face next at Signal Iduna Park on 11 January (AEDT).
