Three takeaways from Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 win over Wolfsburg

Hummels and Akanji star in defensive masterclass

Borussia Dortmund’s win came in huge part due to the quality defending of Mats Hummers and Manuel Akanji. The duo were the team’s leaders in both passes and touches, and made crucial plays on both ends of the pitch.

Wolfsburg dominated the early stages of the game, and they could have easily been 2-0 up inside the first ten minutes. Xaver Schlagar found Yanncik Gerhardt open in the Borussia Dortmund box early on, but Mats Hummels was in position to block the goal bound effort onto the post and behind for a corner. Conceding the first goal has been a recent trend for the Black and Yellows, and fortunately Hummels was there to stop it from happening again.

In the second half, Manuel Akanji gave Borussia Dortmund the lead. He found the space to get a free header on Jadon Sancho’s corner, and found the bottom corner with an accurate finish. The set piece goal was much-needed, with Dortmund struggling to put chances away from open play. Had Akanji not won the header, Hummels was right behind him ready to make contact. The defensive duo showed great awareness for that corner, and none of the Wolfsburg players were able to react.

After scoring, it was Akanji’s turn to deny a Wolfsburg a goal. Wout Weghorst received an excellent cross from the right, but Akanji was in position quickly to block his effort which was heading for the near post. It would have been really hard for Roman Bürki to prevent that shot from finding the net had Akanji not made the recovery. The Swiss international showed great positioning throughout the game, and so did his defensive partner. Together, Hummels and Akanji combined for eight interceptions and eight clearances to help Borussia Dortmund earn their first clean sheet in the league since October.