Bundesliga: Wolves tear Schalke apart

Wolfsburg 3-0 Schalke

(Dost 17‘, Rodriguez pen 59', Klose 61')

After club sporting director Klaus Allofs confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne was expected to join Premier League team Manchester City on Saturday, Wolfsburg showed how well they can play without him. Goals from Bas Dost, Ricardo Rodriguze and Timm Klose sealed a convincing win over Schalke.

Both teams started the game nervously, testing each other out, as Wolfsburg began life without Kevin De Bruyne and Ivan Perisic, who both watched the game from the stands. The first chance of the game came for the home side, when Ralf Fährmann was forced into a reflex save after Ricardo Rodriguez's free-kick was flicked on by Dost.

Seven minutes later though, and the deadlock was broken. Vieirinha found the overlapping Christian Träsch down the right-wing and the fullback crossed to an unmarked Dost in the box. The Dutchman volleyed home with superb technique for his second of the season, dedicating the goal to former teammate Junior Malanda, who would have celebrated his 21st birthday today.

Having started poorly, Schalke grew into the game. Naldo and Timm Klose were both forced into blocks from Leroy Sane, before Klaas-Jan Huntelaar blazed over the bar from inside the Wolfsburg box with the final chance of the first half on the half-hour mark.

Wolves pounce on lackluster Schalke

After the break, Schalke came out looking to change the tide of the game. Johannes Geis sent a volley just wide of Koen Casteels' goal as the Royal Blues continued to look threatening in attack. However, the problems in defense wouldn't let up, as Wolfsburg made Schalke pay for their mistakes.

As Luiz Gustavo ran towards an incoming corner along the ground, Sead Kolasinac's attempted interception was late and Felix Brych had no choice but to award a penalty. Rodriguez strolled up and sent Fährmann the wrong way. Two minutes later and Schalke conceded their third goal in a Bundesliga match for the first time since February.

Timm Klose volleyed home at the near-post from a corner after some poor marking from the Schalke defense. The Royal Blue's frustrating nice was emphasized as Huntelaar sliced a great chance to make the final minutes interesting wide of goal from inside the box.