Wolfsburg further boosted their Champions League ambitions for the next season after a reasonably comfortable 3-1 away win at Mirko Slomka's Hamburg, however, they did see star midfielder Luiz Gustavo sent off in the final moments.

Ivan Perisic put the away side ahead on two minutes and Kevin De Bruyne scored his first for the club shortly before half time to double their lead. Ivica Olic seemed to have sealed it shortly after the break, however Ivo Ilicevic pulled one back midway through the second half. It did not spur on a comeback, however, and Wolfsburg took the three points in relatively straight forward fashion. 

The result leaves Wolfsburg 4th and Hamburg 16th for now, however tomorrow's two games can both upset each side, as all 4 teams have something to play for. Nurnberg have the chance to overtake Hamburg and leave them in a very difficult 17th when the play Leverkusen, who will be looking to put Wolfsburg back to 5th with a win. Meanwhile, Stuttgart can pull further away from Hamburg and leave them in a really sticky situation with three points against Schalke at 16;30, who will be looking to consolidate 3rd place and move again to within 3 points of 2nd placed Dortmund with 3 games remaining.

The game started in crazy style, Adler rushing out after Gustavo sent Perisic through, and the Croatian made no mistake to get the away side on track extremely early on. Shortly before half time, Kevin De Bruyne was allowed space to wriggle away and place the ball into Adler's far corner emphatically, making it 2-0 and getting his first since his January signing. 4 minutes after the second half whistle sounded, Naldo headed down goal-bound from a Rodriguez corner and Ivica Olic instinctively pounced to slam home a third. Ilicevic did scramble home a consolation goal for Hamburg but it did not managed to ignite a revival and Luiz Gustavo received a third red card of his debut season at Wolfsburg to put a slight blemish on a great day for the away side.

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About the author
James Smith
Aspiring journalist and feature writer. Unbiased Liverpool fan, follower of Atletico Madrid and football in all European divisions.