MX23RW : Sunday, May 17 15:35:29| >> :120:24927:24927:
Mar 30, 2019 at 2.30pm UK at Signal-Iduna-Park (Dortmund)
Attendance: 81,365
DortmundBorussia Dortmund
2-0
Wolfsburg
Alcacer (90', 90')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Lucien Favre hails Dortmund's 'calmness' as they regain Bundesliga lead

Favre hails Dortmund's 'calmness' as they regain Bundesliga lead
© Reuters
Paco Alcacer's double helped his side return to the top of the table.

Borussia Dortmund boss Lucien Favre insists his side kept their cool before a late double from Paco Alcacer secured victory over Wolfsburg and a return to the top of the Bundesliga.

Dortmund, who were missing leading scorer Marco Reus, appeared set to have to settle for a draw as the game entered injury time still deadlocked at 0-0.

But Alcacer finally made the breakthrough when he scored direct from a free-kick in the first minute of stoppage time, and the Spain striker wrapped up the points when he tapped in a second three minutes later.

"We've stayed calm because we know anything is possible until the whistle," Favre told dvb.de

"We really wanted to score in the last 15 minutes, so we also increased the risk a bit."

The win sees Dortmund reclaim first place in the standings from Bayern Munich, who were held to a draw at Freiburg.

Favre added of the match: "Both teams defended well and had good phases in the game.

"We put on pressure, but Wolfsburg were also dangerous with long balls and counter-attacks, especially in the second half."

Dortmund playmaker Mario Gotze always felt his side could prise open Wolfsburg at some point, having failed to score only once in their last 33 league games at Signal Iduna Park.

Gotze said:  "Of course we always believed that we could score a goal here at home.

"It was a very difficult game. It's important to know that we can be dangerous to the last minute."

Goalkeeper Roman Burki added: "I am very happy for Paco today. Today he scored two very important goals.

"That's a nice feeling, the weekend could not go better."

Wolfsburg coach Bruno Labbadia said the defeat was "extremely bitter" given his team's performance against the title hopefuls.

The result leaves Wolfsburg in eighth place, five points off the top four.

Labbadia told vfl-wolfsburg.de: "My team did very, very well against strong opposition.

"To then lose the game in such a way is extremely harsh and I feel particularly sorry for our players, who did a great job today.

"It's an extremely bitter defeat."

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Borussia Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre watches on during the Champions League clash with Tottenham Hotspur on February 13, 2019
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rhs 2.0
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayern MunichBayern25174473264755
2Borussia DortmundDortmund26166472333954
3Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach26164652312152
4RB Leipzig26149363273651
5Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen25145645301547
6Wolfsburg2610973631539
7Freiburg2610793536-137
8Schalke 04Schalke2691073340-737
9Hoffenheim26105113546-1135
10FC Koln26103134147-633
11Hertha Berlin2687113548-1331
12Union BerlinUnion Berlin2593133241-930
13Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt2584133944-528
14Augsburg2676133754-1727
15Mainz 052683153655-1927
16Fortuna DusseldorfDusseldorf2658132750-2323
17Werder Bremen2446142755-2818
18SC PaderbornSC Paderborn2645173054-2417

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