Borussia Mönchengladbach saw their top four hopes dented on Saturday, while Wolfsburg's were boosted after a 2-1 win over Andre Schubert's side at the Volkswagen Arena. A quickfire double from Julian Draxler and Max Kruse proved to be enough for Wolfsburg, despite Raffael's wonderful consolation a few minutes later.
Wolves do the damage early on
Wolfsburg started the better of the two sides and came close to an opener inside ten minutes but Dante's header flew wide of the goal. It wouldn't take long for the goals to come as Julian Draxler netted the opener for Wolfsburg. The young German hit the post with his initial effort before slotting home the rebound to make it 1-0.
The hosts doubled their lead two minutes later thanks to Max Kruse. The striker finished off Max Arnold's pass by firing into the top corner past Yann Sommer in the Gladbach goal to give Wolfsburg a 2-0 lead, with both goals coming within minutes of each other.
Mönchengladbach were 2-0 down inside 20 minutes and looked like helpless but clawed their way back into the affair in the 23rd minute. Raffael's incredible finish from a tight angle made it 2-1 on the day.
Mahmoud Dahoud then had a long-range strike saved well by Casteels in the Wolfsburg goal and it was Gladbach who finished the first half the better of the two sides, with Raffael's goal giving them plenty of hope for the second half.
Second period fails to get going
Mönchengladbach had the better of the ball to begin the second half but failed to create any real threatening chances. Wolfsburg had the better of the chances, including Andre Schürrle's shot on the hour mark that went wide of the mark.
Substitute Patrick Herrmann had an opportunity with under a quarter of an hour to play but the German winger saw his shot deflected over the bar to keep the score at 2-1.
Compared to the first half, the second period lacked the chances and goals, with both sides failing to create in the final third. Martin Hinteregger had a late chance for the visitors but could only watch has his shot went wide, similar to most of the shots on the day.
Gladbach could not find a way back into the game after giving themselves a chance in the first half and Wolfsburg claimed a vital three points.
Wolfsburg's victory sees them move within two points of Gladbach and both are now on the brink of the Champions League places in the Bundesliga table. Today's victors travel to Hoffenheim next week in a bid to further their top 4 chances and bounce back from an up and down season. Borussia Mönchengladbach on the other hand will host Eintracht Frankfurt in an effort to get back on track.