Guirassy decider at the death as Dortmund down Wolfsburg | OneFootball

It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon in the heart of Niedersachsen, one degree above freezing, as VfL Wolfsburg played host to Borussia Dortmund in the twenty-first matchweek of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season.

Wolfsburg went into this match with just one win from their last six matches, fourteenth in the table and just one point safe from the relegation playoff with a 5-4-11 record and 19 points. Dortmund, on the other hand, have not lost since October; they entered this match second in the league, with a 13-6-1 record and 45 points.

Dortmund won the coin toss and elected to start off the second half, so Mohamed Amoura sent the ball back to Kamil Grabara to kick off the first 45, with Wolfsburg going left to right and Dortmund vice versa.

The visitors controlled possession for much of the first five minutes - drawing a pair of fouls on the left side of the Wolfsburg half, but nothing major. Felix Nmecha delivered the first cross of the match from the left side of the hosts’ third in the sixth minute, but it completely missed Maximilian Beier on the right side of the box and bounced out for a goal kick to Grabara.

After a Wolfsburg attack that failed in the midfield, Dortmund had a great chance to open the scoring. Beier weaved his way around Denis Vavro, confusing the Slovak centre-back, and found Serhou Guirassy with a slicing through ball into the right side of the Wolfsburg penalty area. Guirassy followed by powering an attempt off the leg of Wolfsburg debutant Jeanuël Belocian, well over the bar and out for a corner.

Niklas Süle would take the first shot on goal for BVB in the thirteenth minute, with a hard right-footed attempt towards the bottom-right corner; Grabara made the initial stop and then kept the ball on his chest to deny any potential rebounds for Guirassy or Beier.

Kilian Fischer went down in the fifteenth minute with some discomfort in his left leg, which had to be bandaged by the medical staff. He had to be helped off the field, and 19-year-old right-back Jan Bürger would enter in his place two minutes later.

In the twentieth minute, Mohamed Amoura would generate the first decent counterattack for the hosts, nearly finding Kevin Paredes at the goalmouth with a trivela pass; however, Waldemar Anton read the play well and made a powerful clearance to send the ball out for an eventually unsuccessful corner. Amoura would then take a shot of his own from just outside the Dortmund penalty area three minutes later, but that chance went metres wide of the left post and out for a goal kick to Gregor Köbel.

Wolfsburg had what was easily their best chance to take a first half lead in the twenty-fourth minute, and it would be Amoura to take the attempt once again. Kevin Paredes won possession from Nico Schlotterbeck in the midfield, and found Adam Daghim with a short ground pass to his right. Daghim would then spot Amoura in a 1v1 opportunity, with Niklas Süle tracking slightly behind, and threaded a through ball to the Algerian international striker. Amoura ran to the edge of the box, with only Köbel to beat, before sending an attempt just over the top-right corner for a goal kick to the visitors.

Dortmund would respond with a chance of their own in the thirtieth minute, as a Süle cross from the right side of the Wolfsburg third found Daniel Svensson at the edge of the goal area. Svensson headed the ball towards the right side of the box, eventually finding Julian Ryerson. However, the Norwegian international would blast an attempt well over the bar and out for a goal kick to Die Wölfe.

On a Dortmund counterattack just after the half-hour mark, Ryerson found Beier with a ground pass into the centre of the box from the right side of the Wolfsburg half. Beier had only Grabara and Denis Vavro in front of him; the 23-year-old attacking midfielder blasted an attempt towards the top-left corner, but the ball deflected off the left leg of Vavro, off the bar, and out of play for an eventually unsuccessful corner to the visitors.

Despite creating a few decent runs into the box, Dortmund landed the one and only shot on target in the first 30 minutes, with total shots having been 7-4 to the visitors; BVB held 68% possession and managed a 91% pass accuracy, compared to 78% for Wolfsburg.

Dortmund would make sure that they capitalised on their second shot on target, however. After Konstantinos Koulierakis cleared an attempt headed for the top-left corner, Süle would deliver a thirty-eighth minute corner into the left side of the box, with Jan Bürger and Christian Eriksen in the space where it would eventually land. Julian Brandt ran into that space, broke free of Bürger, and deflected a header into the left side of the net to put the visitors in front.

From that point until the end of the half, Wolfsburg moved into a heavily defence-focused strategy, with Arnold and Eriksen moving to the back line and all six defensive players crowded around the goal area. The one chance they had on the other end of the field was halted by Schlotterbeck, who slide tackled Amoura on the right side of the Dortmund half before the latter could generate anything major.

Head referee Timo Gerach would blow the whistle on the first half just moments later, with Brandt’s thirty-eighth minute goal the difference going into the break. Dortmund outshot Wolfsburg 15-4, 4-0 on target, with 68 % possession - the visitors also had a 91 % pass accuracy on 298 passes, compared to 77 % on 114 passes for Wolfsburg.

Dortmund kicked off the second half, but the first opportunity of the second half would go to Wolfsburg. Mohamed Amoura would run into the left side of the BVB half with pace, but his pass towards the centre of the box was cut off by a Süle tackle and sent out for a corner. Eriksen would take the ensuing set piece, lifting it into the right side of the goal area - Köbel met it perfectly, however, and gloved it down to start a counterattack for the visitors.

In that counterattack, Daghim would step on the right boot of Beier as the two contested for possession - Gerach had no other option but to give the 20-year-old Danish winger his first yellow card of the Bundesliga campaign. On a Wolfsburg counter, Daghim would cut into the right side of the Dortmund half, with Schlotterbeck in front of him; Daghim appears to make a lofted pass into the right side of the box, but Schlotterbeck paws it away with his hand and takes a yellow card from Gerach as a result.

Maximilian Arnold would supply the set-piece delivery into the centre of the box, towards Konstantinos Koulierakis - who would power a header above a leaping Gregor Köbel, just under the bar and over the line to draw the score level for VfL Wolfsburg. Mohamed Amoura would follow with a pair of chances on the left side of the Dortmund penalty area, and one on the right, but all three missed just wide.

In the seventy-first minute, Daghim would send a through ball to Amoura on the right side of the Wolfsburg half. With the entire back line tracking the Danish international, it allowed Amoura to dart into a 1v1 opportunity on the right side of the Dortmund penalty area. Amoura would attempt to pick out the top-right corner, but Köbel charged out and blocked the attempt with his chest. Alexander Sather’s flag would eventually go up, as Amoura was inches offside.

With ten minutes remaining until the final whistle, Daniel Bauer’s side were determined to push for a winning goal. Belocian would cross the ball into the right side of the Dortmund penalty area, finding Majer; the Croatian international would leap above Svensson and Anton before heading an attempt off the crossbar.

The visitors would make Die Wölfe pay in the eighty-seventh minute, as former Wolfsburg midfielder Felix Nmecha would dart past the hosts’ defence and find Serhou Guirassy at the goalmouth. Bürger would do his best to win possession back with a slide tackle, but was a second too late as the Guinean international striker tapped the ball past Grabara and into the bottom-right corner.

Wolfsburg still had time to press for an equaliser. Maximilian Arnold would blast an attempt in the centre of the Dortmund third, on the edge of the box; Ramy Bensebaini, who entered the match just moments earlier, deflected it with his lofted left boot, sent it off the bar and out of play for a corner to the hosts. Nothing would come of the ensuing play, and Timo Gerach would draw the match to a close just moments later, ensuring Borussia Dortmund all three points with a 2-1 victory.

VfL Wolfsburg drop one place to fifteenth in the Bundesliga table, with a 5-4-12 record and 19 points; Borussia Dortmund remain second with a 14-6-1 record and 48 points. If league leaders FC Bayern München lose to third-place TSG 1899 Hoffenheim tomorrow afternoon, Dortmund will be just three points back of Die Roten in the race to the Meisterschale.

Borussia Dortmund will host thirteenth-place 1. FSV Mainz 05 at Signal Iduna Park in their next match on Friday, with the primetime match set to begin at 20:30 (CET). Dortmund have won both of their last two meetings with Mainz, including the reverse at MEWA-Arena by a 2-0 result in September; the last time that Mainz defeated BVB was by a 3-1 result in November 2024.

As for VfL Wolfsburg, they will visit fifth-place RB Leipzig at Red Bull Arena next Sunday. Leipzig won the reverse meeting by a 1-0 result at Volkswagen Arena in September, and are unbeaten against Wolfsburg in the last three matches in all competitions; the last time Die Wölfe picked up a victory against Leipzig was also in November 2024, a 5-1 thumping at Red Bull Arena. Kickoff for that match is set for 17:30 (CET).