Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Lars Stindl scores their third goal, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool
A first-half brace from striker Jonas Hofmann and a second-half strike by Lars Stindl gave Champions League-chasing Borussia Moenchengladbach a comfortable 3-0 win over hapless VfL Wolfsburg, lifting them to fourth in the Bundesliga on Tuesday.
Hofmann latched onto a beautiful angled pass from Breel Embolo to fire his first in the 11th minute, and he made it two on the half-hour mark, collecting a lay-off from Matthias Ginter before guiding the ball past the keeper.
Wolfsburg had plenty of possession but their sloppy passing was often punished, and Stindl was able to exploit a mistake in the middle of the field to start a counterattack that he finished himself to make it 3-0 in the 65th minute.
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Lars Stindl celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool
With regular Moenchengladbach strikers Alassane Plea and Marcus Thuram both missing through injury, Hofmann made the most of his chance and could have had a hat-trick, but he dragged his best chance of the second half just wide.
On what proved to be a frustrating evening for the visitors, Wolfsburg managed to create several decent chances but all too often their efforts flew either wide or high over the crossbar.
The win moved Gladbach up to fourth spot on 59 points, two ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, who have a game in hand. Sixth-placed Wolfsburg remain in the hunt for the Europa League with 46 points, three ahead of Hoffenheim.
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Lars Stindl in action with VfL Wolfsburg's Renato Steffen, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Toby Davis)
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Jonas Hofmann in action, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Lars Stindl, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Matthias Ginter in action with VfL Wolfsburg's John Brooks, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Lars Stindl celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Christoph Kramer in action with VfL Wolfsburg's Yannick Gerhardt, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Breel Embolo reacts, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Jonas Hofmann celebrates scoring their second goal with Matthias Ginter, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Lars Stindl with referee Robert Schroder, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 VfL Wolfsburg's Robin Knoche looks dejected after the match, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 General view during the match, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Borussia Moenchengladbach's Lars Stindl celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Borussia Moenchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg - Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach, Germany - June 16, 2020 Cutout photos of fans in the stands, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Pool
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