Kevin De Bruyne sets Wolfsburg on way to easy win
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ByEurosport
Updated 15/03/2015 at 19:59 GMT
Kevin de Bruyne set second-placed VfL Wolfsburg on their way to an easy 3-0 Bundesliga win over lowly Freiburg which moved them closer to a place in the Champions League next season.
VfL Wolfsburg's Kevin de Bruyne (2nd L) is congratulated by his team mate Naldo (2nd R) after scoring a second goal against Inter Milan during their Europa League round of 16 first leg soccer match in Wolfsburg, March 12, 2015 (Reuters)
Image credit: Reuters
The Wolves strengthened their grip on second spot with 53 points from 25 games, nine clear of Borussia Moenchengladbach who went back into third place with an equally straightforward 2-0 victory over Hanover 96 in Sunday's other game.
Wolfsburg remained 11 points behind runaway leaders Bayern Munich who thumped Werder Bremen 4-0 on Saturday.
Wolfsburg showed no signs of fatigue following their Europa League win over Inter Milan on Thursday as Josuha Guilavogui was foiled by goalkeeper Roman Buerki and Bas Dost prodded over from a tight angle early on.
The pressure paid off in the 19th minute when De Bruyne fired Wolfsburg in front with his ninth league goal of the season after Marc Torrejon failed to clear the ball.
Ricardo Rodriguez, De Bruyne and Bas Dost all missed chances to increase Wolfsburg's lead before the half hour.
The hosts had to wait until the last 15 minutes to put the game to bed with Belgium's De Bruyne involved in both goals.
Wolfsburg were awarded a penalty in the 79th minute when Buerki fouled De Bruyne and Ricardo Rodriguez sent his fellow Swiss the wrong way from the spot.
De Bruyne then laid the third on a plate for Maximilian Arnold six minutes later.
Second from bottom Freiburg remained stuck in the relegation zone with 22 points.
Patrick Herrmann scored both goals as Gladbach moved back into the top three positions that earn a Champions League group stage place.
Herrmann turned in Thorgan Hazard's cross two minutes before half-time as the Foals were rewarded for their first-half dominance, and he was also left with an easy task of tapping in Max Kruse's square ball in the 75th minute to complete the win.
Hanover, who have not won since the winter break, were left in 13th place and only four points clear of the relegation playoff spot.
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