Borussia Dortmund struck three times in five first-half minutes to secure a 3-1 win at Wolfsburg on Sunday and climb to sixth in the Bundesliga.

Donyell Malen marked his return to Dortmund's starting lineup in style, opening the scoring with a close-range volley following a corner in the 25th minute.

Maximilian Beier doubled the lead just three minutes later when his superb finish ricocheted in off the post.

The forward then set up Julian Brandt, who returned to action after a month out injured, to drill it in from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark.

The hosts pulled one back with a Denis Vavro header from a corner in the 58th minute but failed to find another even after Dortmund were reduced to 10 men four minutes later; Pascal Gross was sent off for a last-man foul on substitute Lukas Nmecha.

Dortmund moved to 25 points and sit in the last European spot, while Wolfsburg remain 11th with 21 points.

Ending the year on a high note! pic.twitter.com/A1989YaF5W
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) December 22, 2024

Data Debrief: Finishing the year on a high

Prior to this game, Dortmund had picked up just two points from their Bundesliga away matches this season, their worst return from their first six games on the road in 33 years (also two points in 1991-92).

In fact, this is their first away victory since April 13, when they beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1, snapping an eight-match run without a win.

They had work to do after Gross' red card but triumphed in their final game of a calendar year for the first time since 2018 (D1 L4).

That is partly down to Brandt's excellent work in the first half,as he scored and assisted in the same Bundesliga match for Dortmund for the first time (171 appearances).