Berlin (AFP) – US international John Brooks and Dutch striker Wout Weghorst netted as Wolfsburg jumped to third in the Bundesliga on Sunday with a 3-0 home win over mid-table Freiburg.
Wolfsburg remain unbeaten at home this season and Brooks fired them into an early lead before Weghorst showed great finishing to make it 2-0 at the break.
Weghorst has netted 12 league goals this season and forced Freiburg goalkeeper Florian Mueller into a string of brilliant saves in sub-zero temperatures.
Midfielder Yannick Gerhardt celebrated signing a contract extension in midweek by tapping home Wolfsburg’s third goal four minutes from the whistle to move them up from sixth to three points behind second-placed RB Leipzig.
However they are 10 points behind league leaders Bayern Munich.
At the other end of the table, Cologne earned their first home league win for 11 months to climb out of the relegation play-off spot with a 3-1 win over fellow strugglers Arminia Bielefeld.
Cologne are up to 14th after ending their miserable home run, while Bielefeld drop to 16th.
On-loan Borussia Dortmund winger Marius Wolf gave Cologne an early lead with a simple tap-in, then smashed a volley just inside the post before half-time.
Midfielder Elvis Rexhbecaj added a third when he was left unmarked as Bielefeld struggled to reorganise after a double substitution.
Venezuela forward Sergio Cordova came off the bench to claim a consolation goal for Bielefeld with an easy finish after a mix-up in the home defence.
Max Meyer, who captained Germany to the silver medal at the 2016 Olympics, came on for his Cologne debut just before the final whistle, having signed in midweek after his Crystal Palace contract was cancelled.
On Saturday, leaders Bayern Munich maintained their seven-point lead with a 4-1 home win against Hoffenheim while second-placed RB Leipzig edged to a 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
