BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund continued their spectacular implosion this season, losing 2-1 at struggling Werder Bremen on Saturday, their 10th defeat in 17 Bundesliga games sending them into the winter break provisionally in 17th place and a point off the bottom.

Talented teenager Davie Selke scored one goal and set up another for Bremen to climb off the bottom with Freiburg, the new bottom side, having a game in hand before the six-week winter break.

Dortmund fell behind with just three minutes gone when 19-year-old Selke curled in a superb goal from 15 metres out before delivered a cross for Fin Bartels to make it 2-0 on the hour.

Selkie then turned provider by outsprinting Dortmund captain Mats Hummels to put in a great cross which Bremen midfielder Fin Bartels converted on 62 minutes. Mats Hummels pulled a goal back with a diving header in the 69th but it was no more than a consolation.

The result left Dortmund, champions in 2011 and 2012, on 15 points, two behind VfB Stuttgart — who played a goalless draw with Paderborn — and Bremen, who are in the relegation playoff spot.

Brazilian defender Naldo’s 78th-minute header from a corner gave VfL Wolfsburg a 2-1 win over Cologne that lifted them to 34 points and consolidated second place behind Bayern Munich who have 45.

Wolfsburg, champions in 2009, are six ahead of third-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who needed an 83rd-minute equaliser from Germany international Karim Bellarabi to rescue a 1-1 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Borussia Moenchengladbach dropped to fourth, a point behind, after losing 2-1 at in-form Augsburg. Augsburg moved to sixth, level on 27 points with Moenchengladbach and Schalke 04 who were held to a goalless draw at home to Hamburg SV in a poor display.

Published in Dawn, December 22th, 2014