Pro Sports

Sancho's 1st goal seals hard-fought triumph for Dortmund

Posted January 03, 2021 6:00 am

By CIARÃN FAHEY

Dortmund's Jadon Sancho scores his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, Pool) The Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) - Jadon Sancho scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season on Sunday but Borussia Dortmund returned from the winter break looking like it needs another one in a hard-fought 2-0 win over Wolfsburg.

Sancho only made sure of the result on a counterattack in injury time, shrugging off defender Paulo OtÃ¡vio's challenge before firing inside the right post when he just had the goalkeeper to beat.

It was the England forward's first goal in his 12th league appearance this season, a marked decline from last season when he had 17. It led to reported interest from Manchester United in a big-money transfer. Sancho had seven goals and eight assists after 12 Bundesliga appearances last season.

Sancho made his sixth assist of this season Sunday when he sent in the corner for Manuel Akanji's breakthrough in the 66th minute, but it had been a frustrating game for Dortmund despite star striker Erling Haaland's return from a month out with a muscle injury.

'œWe knew what to expect but we also made it difficult for ourselves,'ť Dortmund's new coach Edin TerziÄ‡ said after his first home win.

There was a lengthy holdup midway through the second half for a VAR check on a possible handball by Axel Witsel. The Dortmund midfielder had no time to avoid Renato Steffen's close-range header and referee Manuel GrÃ¤fe eventually allowed play to continue.

Wolfsburg had looked the more likely side to score, but there were few chances after the unscheduled break as the game was repeatedly interrupted by GrÃ¤fe's whistle.

Dortmund had to wait until first-half injury time for its first big chance, missed by Sancho when he failed to connect properly with a rebound. There was still time before the break for Marco Reus to test Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels with a free kick.

Casteels produced a fine one-handed save to deny Haaland after the break, but Akanji finally made the breakthrough when he powered in a header from Sancho's corner.

The visitors pushed hard for the equalizer until Emre Can sent Sancho free after a Wolfsburg corner.

Bayern Munich was hosting struggling Mainz later, expecting a return to the top of the league with a win.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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CiarÃ¡n Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAP

Dortmund's Jadon Sancho reacts after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, Pool) The Associated Press

Dortmund's Jadon Sancho, left, celebrates with Dortmund's Raphael Guerreiro after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, Pool) The Associated Press

Wolfsburg's Paulo Otavio, right, and Dortmund's Jadon Sancho, left, challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, Pool) The Associated Press

Dortmund's Manuel Akanji, 2nd from left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, Pool) The Associated Press

Dortmund's Manuel Akanji celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, Pool) The Associated Press

Dortmund's Erling Haaland controls the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, Pool) The Associated Press

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