BERLIN: VfL Wolfsburg scored three times in 16 minutes to come back from a goal down to beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 to win the German Cup for the first time on Saturday, a fitting coronation after a hugely successful season.

The Wolves, who finished second in the Bundesliga, rallied after Dortmund had taken a fifth-minute lead on a sun-drenched day at the Olympic Stadium, venue of next week’s Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus.

“It was a great game for us,” goal-scoring midfielder Kevin De Bruyne told ARD television. “We struggled in the first 20 minutes but after that we played great.”

Wolfsburg’s victory denied Juergen Klopp the perfect send-off on his final appearance as Dortmund coach after seven years in charge after first-half goals from Luiz Gustavo, De Bruyne and Bas Dost.

Dortmund, in their fourth final since 2008, had got off to a dream start when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired in a volley following a chip from Shinji Kagawa.

Wolfsburg’s comeback saw them fight hard in the second half, only to struggle against Wolfsburg’s well-organised defence with goalkeeper Diego Benaglio in fine form.

BORUSSIA Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2nd R) scores a goal past VfL Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio during the German Cup final.—Reuters

Having led Dortmund to the 2013 Champions League final after winning the Bundesliga in 2011 and claiming the German league and cup double in 2012, this was Klopp’s final bow before Thomas Tuchel takes over next season.

“Yeah, a 3-1 defeat, now we’re second. That feels better at the Olympics than it does in the German Cup,” Klopp said.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2015

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