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BERLIN (AP) — Borussia Dortmund held on after Pascal Groß’ sending off to beat Wolfsburg 3-1 for its first Bundesliga away win of the season on Sunday.
Donyell Malen gave the visitors the lead with a volley from a corner in the 25th minute, 3 minutes before Julian Brandt fed Maximilian Beier to score Dortmund’s second goal. Beier, who scored with the outside of his boot on the left post, celebrated with a dart-throwing gesture.
Beier returned the favor to Brandt and two minutes later scored Dortmund’s third goal.
Despite the commanding lead, the visitors were second-best for long periods thereafter as Wolfsburg improved dramatically.
Coach Ralph Hasenhüttl made two adjustments at half-time and added that Lukas Nmecha would face his brother Felix Nmecha, who was playing for Dortmund.
Denis Vavro pulled one back in the 58th, four minutes before Groß was sent off for a foul on Lukas Nmecha when the Wolfsburg forward was through on goal.
The home team pushed hard but Dortmund managed to hold on to ease the pressure on coach Nuri Sahin.
“A 3-0 lead should mean you can get through the game with confidence,” said Brandt, who complained about his team’s drop in performance. “We’re to blame for that. It’s not good, we need to play more confidently, we need to grow up.”
Dortmund rose to sixth place before the championship’s winter break, but that is where the club aims to be after a shaky start to the league.
“We’ll try a reset and to play better in the new year,” Beier said. “It can’t be our goal to be sixth.”
Bochum celebrates
Bochum, bottom of the table, beat relegation rivals Heidenheim 2-0 to get their first win of the season.
“When we play like we did today, it means there are many possibilities for the next 19 games,” said Bochum coach Dieter Hecking. “From that point of view, I’m also satisfied to have won because I couldn’t have played many more games without winning.
It is the visitors’ seventh consecutive defeat in the Bundesliga, the culmination of a busy schedule after achieving European qualification in their league debut last season and the loss of star players such as Jan-Niklas Beste, Tim Kleindienst and Eren Dinkci in the low season.
“We’re at the end of another ‘English week’ (with midweek games) again,” Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt said. “Everyone did their best, but we have to be honest – it wasn’t enough.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer