3-1 against Wolfsburg: Haaland's return with Kung

There was something wondrous about his return.

After around 70 minutes, when Erling Haaland had prepared for his substitution, it had become louder in the VfL Wolfsburg stadium.

And when the Norwegian promptly scored his tenth goal of the season in the 81st minute of the game, 13,281 spectators donated astonished applause.

Borussia Dortmund can again build on the goals of the exceptional talent.

Haaland, who had recovered from a muscle injury, rounded off a hard-fought 3-1 win in Wolfsburg with his goal.

He sends his warmest greetings to the entire Bundesliga.

If pursuer Dortmund on Saturday (6.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and Sky) competes with leaders Bayern Munich, Haaland can be expected again.

“Of course,” explained BVB coach Marco Rose, “Erling is a player that makes a difference.

He gives you energy, is there and scores his goal. "

As so often, the fuss about Haaland distracted from much of the essentials.

One of the professionals who made the difference between two ambitious teams was a man who was recently scolded.

Emre Can ensured a strong mixture of ball security, game intelligence and basic aggressiveness in the midfield of Borussia Dortmund.

That is exactly what he does not always succeed in doing.

On Wednesday, when BVB failed 3-1 at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, Can had seen too much anger in his stomach and a red card. In the Wolfsburg stadium, he received tremendous encouragement for his entry because he had acted more sensibly this time. The 27-year-old midfielder cleared opposing colleagues out of the way and with prejudices. Can set the pace for Borussia with tough tackles and clever passes. He scored 1: 1 (35th) with a penalty caused by Marco Reus. And after Dortmund 1: 2 through striker Donyell Malen, Can held a team together that had been challenged by VfL Wolfsburg.

Three central questions had to be clarified in Wolfsburg. How did Borussia Dortmund cope with the premature exit in the Champions League? And how resilient is striker Haaland after his hip flexor muscle injury? And can Dortmund really annoy FC Bayern again? To put the answers in brackets: Borussia didn't stay long with complaining and quarreling. Apart from the early goal in the 2nd minute, the Dortmund majority set the tone. And they weren't dependent on a single talent like Haaland on the way to victory. Attacker Malen made his way again and again with a lot of speed and finesse. In contrast to Haaland, he is not a specialist in actions in the penalty area and still came up with good opportunities. But what Malen needs half times and a half for,someone like Haaland can do that within a few minutes. The man with the shirt number 9 made a goal from a nice cross from Julian Brandt with the help of a Kung Fu shot. At that moment it was impossible to tell that he had been injured for a month.

The praise for Haaland did not want to end after the end of the game.

All Borussia Dortmund professionals made a verbal curtsey to their massive colleague with their assessment.

“Erling is a weapon,” Brandt said shortly after the end of the game about Haaland.

"That gives the team confidence," Can said of the striker's return.

However, the BVB players were also self-critical enough to admit their own inadequacies with the sheer Haaland cheers.

Looking at the top game in Munich, Can admitted that Borussia in Wolfsburg had not done good publicity for over 90 minutes.

Because after the break, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel was one of the best Dortmund players, who repeatedly had to fend off shots from the running host.

What remains a mystery with a view to Borussia Dortmund is the susceptibility to previous goals.

In Wolfsburg only two minutes had been played when VfL were already able to cheer.

His striker Wout Weghorst was able to use a cross from Ridle Baku with his chest.

In the initiation of this hit, the left side of defense had been tricked with Nico Schulz in the main responsibility.

But the lapse was quickly forgotten.

Because Borussia Dortmund had made a lot of countable things out of a lot of possession and control, unlike last time in the Champions League.

Scoring three goals at home-strong VfL Wolfsburg is something that only a few teams in the league manage to achieve.

That's why this Dortmund away win felt like a recommendation for the title fight.