Late Guirassy winner for Dortmund trims Bayern's Bundesliga lead

Serhou Guirassy netted a late winner to secure Borussia Dortmund a narrow 2-1 win over Wolfsburg on Saturday, temporarily reducing Bayern Munich's advantage at the Bundesliga summit to three points.

This marked Dortmund's fifth straight league success under Niko Kovac, bringing them one win away from the previously dominant Bayern, who could reclaim their six-point margin with victory against high-flying Hoffenheim on Sunday.

Following an exceptional opening to the campaign, the title holders have now gone two matches without a win, opening the door for Dortmund to harbour hopes of their first championship since 2012 with 13 fixtures remaining.

Dortmund's performance was far from their best, compounded by the pre-game setback of captain Emre Can facing another month on the sidelines.

Nonetheless, they eked out the result against a Wolfsburg outfit that has managed just one victory since January, courtesy of strikes from Julian Brandt and Guirassy, sandwiching a equaliser from Konstantinos Koulierakis for the home side.

Max Beier came close to opening the scoring for Dortmund in the opening period, but his shot was diverted by Denis Vavro's desperate clearance onto the crossbar's underside.

The hosts ignored the close call, and shortly after, Dortmund took the lead.

Julian Ryerson's corner from the left in the 38th minute reached Brandt at the near post, where he headed home.

Dortmund's lead lasted only until seven minutes into the second half, when Koulierakis timed his debut goal for Wolfsburg perfectly, rising to head in from near range.

As 15th-placed Wolfsburg neared a vital draw, Dortmund crafted a smooth decisive goal, with the Guinean forward Guirassy delivering an excellent left-footed effort in the 87th minute to give Kovac a triumphant return to his old club.

"It was a superbly crafted strike," Brandt commented. "That demonstrates true individual class.

"We let Wolfsburg gain confidence after the break. We feel immense relief given the match's flow."

Pivotal day at bottom

The day also held significance for the relegation scrap and the pursuit of prized top-four berths.

Struggling St Pauli, winless since before the winter pause, triumphed 2-1 against fourth-placed Stuttgart, who were unbeaten in the league since a 5-0 thrashing by Bayern at home on December 6.

Daniel Sinani's smart feint deceived the Stuttgart backline, allowing Manolis Saliakis to rifle the ball into the net from outside the area for the first goal on 35 minutes.

Sinani converted from the penalty spot ten minutes post-interval after Chris Fuehrich handled the ball.

Stuttgart managed a late reply via Jamie Leweling in the final minute, but it proved insufficient as St Pauli edged closer to safety.

Fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen could not exploit Stuttgart's stumble, settling for a 1-1 stalemate in the evening clash at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Yannik Engelhardt struck early for the home team within ten minutes, yet an own goal by Gladbach's Philipp Sander just before the break levelled the scores.

Mainz extended their impressive revival under Swiss coach Urs Fischer, who lifted them from the foot of the standings to 13th in short order, beating Augsburg 2-0.

Nadiem Amiri notched both from penalties, marking four victories in their last five outings.

Hamburg claimed vital points too, securing their inaugural away win of the season with a 2-0 success at rock-bottom Heidenheim.

Werder Bremen fell to a stunning lone goal from Freiburg's Jan-Niklas Beste, prolonging their barren run to 11 matches.