Dortmund triumph
January 29, 2011
Borussia Dortmund restored an 11-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga soccer table on Saturday, defeating hosts VfL Wolfsburg 3-0.
Dortmund did not need long to take the lead, with Paraguay international Barrios tapping in a Mario Götze cross in the second minute.
"That was our 10th away win [out of 11 away games], which is truly world class," said Dortmund player Nuri Sahin. "We played very well against a strong Wolfsburg side."
Munich leapfrogs Hanover
FC Bayern Munich meanwhile edged past Werder Bremen, taking the match 3-1 and stealing third place from an already-defeated Hanover 96, who lost Friday to Bayer Leverkusen.
Per Mertesacker scored for Werder in the 46th minute, but his own goal gave Bayern the lead in the 75th after Bayern's Arjen Robben had equalized 10 minutes earlier.
"Bremen were strong in the first 20 minutes, but we changed our tactics and were better," said Bayern coach Louis van Gaal.
"After conceding the goal at the start of the second half, my team became significantly more aggressive in their play … In the end, we deserved our win and I am proud of my team," he said.
Hoffenheim took a surprise victory, defeating hosts Schalke 1-0 in their first win under new coach Marco Pezzaiuoli, while Hamburg slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Nuremberg to drop to seventh on 30 points.
SV Hamburg lost 0-2 to Nuremberg, while Hamburg's other team, St. Pauli, beat FC Cologne 3-0, leaving those teams in 14th and 16th place respectively.
Mainz 05 beat Kaiserslautern 1-0 thanks to a Lewis Holtby volley for their first win after two defeats this year. That victory lifted them to fourth, equal on points with third-place Bayern Munich.
Author: David Levitz (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Mark Hallam