Borussia Dortmund draw vs. Wolfsburg as Sancho makes history

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:35 am

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BERLIN -- Borussia Dortmund were held 0-0 by draw specialist Wolfsburg on Sunday after leaving out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from their squad for "disciplinary reasons" for the second time this season.

Dortmund announced the decision to drop their star striker before the Bundesliga game, but neither the 17-year-old Jadon Sancho nor 18-year-old Alexander Isak proved an adequate replacement.

Dortmund had 19 efforts on goal compared to the visitors' nine.

Wolfsburg have now drawn 11 of their 18 games so far.

Sancho became the first English player to start for Dortmund in the league but he endured a frustrating game, firing a good chance over in the second half.

Isak hit the post toward the end of the first half, and Andrey Yarmolenko missed an open goal after it, before Sancho struck the post from a narrow angle.

But it wasn't all Dortmund on the attack. Goalkeeper Roman Burki was called into action to deny Wolfsburg chances on the break.

Dortmund missed the chance to go second and instead dropped one place to fourth. There were whistles from frustrated home fans at full time.

Aubameyang, who has 13 league goals this season, was suspended from the squad for the Wolfsburg game for failing to turn up for a club appointment on Saturday.

Coach Peter Stoeger said it showed that the Gabon striker was "not so focused at the moment."

Burki said after the game it was a "logical decision."

Stoeger's predecessor Peter Bosz dropped Aubameyang in November for inviting a film crew to the club's facilities and then turning up late for training, while previous coach Thomas Tuchel dropped him for taking an unsanctioned trip to Milan.