Wolfsburg thrash Arminia Bielefeld to reach DFB Pokal final

Updated: May 17, 2023, 06:17 am

Wolfsburg joined Borussia Dortmund in the final of the DFB-Pokal after ending third-tier Arminia Bielefeld's cup dreams with a 4-0 win in East Westphalia.

The Wolves' win was never in doubt after Maximilian Arnold gave them an early lead and Luiz Gustavo doubled their advantage before the interval.

Ivan Perisic and another Arnold strike sealed the Wolves' place in the Berlin final, where they will battle it out with Dortmund for the silverware at the end of the month.

Arnold put Dieter Hecking's men in front after only eight minutes as Bielefeld lost the ball cheaply when breaking out of defence and Daniel Caligiuri picked up possession, squaring for Arnold, who picked his spot in the top left-hand corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Bielefeld tried to respond with a vociferous crowd behind them, but a second goal after half an hour effectively ended their hopes.

Bas Dost headed a Ricardo Rodriguez free kick back into the centre for Gustavo, who headed in unchallenged.

The hosts almost pulled a goal back early in the second half when a speculative free-kick from Florian Dick hit the crossbar and Fabian Klos volleyed the rebound over, moments before Wolfsburg put the result beyond doubt.

Bas Dost celebrates after Wolfsburg went 4-0 up against Arminia Bielefeld.
Stuart Franklin/Bongarts/Getty Images

Perisic ghosted in at the far post from Caligiuri's pass to tuck the ball in, and put Bielefeld to bed.

Arnold then wrapped up victory with his second and Wolfsburg's fourth of the night, turning in at the second attempt after his first shot was saved.

Wolfsburg will face Dortmund at Berlin's Olympiastadion on May 30 after Jurgen Klopp's men defeated Bayern Munich on penalties in the other semifinal on Tuesday night.