Bundesliga round-up: Wolfsburg and Monchengladbach cruise to comfortable victories
Berlin, March 16 (IANS) Wolfsburg's two late goals wrapped up their 3-0 win over relegation threatened Freiburg while Monchengladbach beat Hannover 2-0 courtesy of Patrick Herrmann's brace to end the 25th round of the Bundesliga.
Wolfsburg returned to winning ways as they reaped an uncontested 3-0 win on Sunday over the hapless visitors from Freiburg. The visitors lacked penetration and were unable to pose any threat to Wolfsburg's defence, reports Xinhua.
From kick-off, Wolfsburg dictated proceedings and Freiburg wilt under the pressure as Kevin De Bruyne broke the deadlock from inside the box with a right footed effort (19th minute).
The 'Wolves' continued to produce goal-scoring opportunities but remained short on accuracy. The hosts got nearly punished for their wastefulness but neither Christian Guenter nor Marc Torrejon were able to beat Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio before the break.
However, a foul by Freiburg goalkeeper Roman Buerki allowed the Wolves to double the lead from the spot (78th minute) when Ricardo Rodriguez's spotkick was directed into the top right corner. With the second goal, Wolfsburg gained momentum and substitute Maximilian Arnold made it 3-0 to kill the game following a square pass by De Bruyne (85th minute).
With their 16th victory of the season, second placed Wolfsburg reduced the gap to front-runners Bayern Munich to 11 points whilst Freiburg suffered their 11th loss to remain 17th, three points away from safety.
Elsewhere, Hannover's wait for their first win in nine games continued as Monchengladbach defended their third place with a 2-0 win thanks to the brace by Herrmann. Monchengladbach dominated the game against uninspired Hannover, who suffered a 0-1 deficit before the break when Herrmann tapped in a long ball at the far post.
Hannover created two chances after the restart but Joselu pulled wide from a promising position and the Foals' goalkeeper Yann Sommer saved Salif Sane's header moments later. Nevertheless, Herrmann's second strike secured three points on home soil.
Monchengladbach got their 12th win of the season to stay in third place with 44 points while Hannover slumped to 13th, after suffering their 12th loss.