Dortmund draw a blank without Auba

BORUSSIA DORTMUND missed the chance to go second in the Bundesliga yesterday after a 0-0 home draw with Wolfsburg without the dropped PierreEmerick Aubameyang.

Before kickoff, Dortmund coach Peter Stoeger revealed he took a dim view of Aubameyang missing a team meeting on Saturday and threw the top-scorer out of the squad.

Dortmund’s attack struggled to finish in his absence, testing visiting goalkeeper Koen Casteel’s with only one of 19 attempts on goal.

“There are rules which apply to every player, regardless of how many goals they score, and it was a logical step,” said Dortmund keeper Roman Burki.

“We missed his goals today, that was obvious, and we hope that we won’t be without him again for more games after another dumb mistake.”

It is the third time Aubameyang has been disciplined by the club after an unauthorised video shoot at Dortmund’s training ground last November and a trip to Milan shortly before a Champions League game last season.

In Aubameyang’s absence, 18-year-old Swedish striker Alexander Isak made only his third Bundesliga appearance up front having previously played just 13 minutes in the top flight.

Isak clipped the post with a first-half shot while winger Andriy Yarmolenko howled in rage after firing wide.

Dortmund kept up the pressure after the break when England Under-19 star Jadon Sancho, 17, – who also made only his third appearance in the Bundesliga – hit the post early in the second half.

At the other end, Daniel Didavi fired at Burki in the first half while new signing Renato Steffen, recruited from Basel, was also denied after coming on with 25 minutes left.

The result leaves Dortmund in the fourth and final Champions League spot, but only one point clear of Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Moenchengladbach, who had earlier fallen to a shock 2-1 defeat at bottom club Cologne.

New signing Simon Terodde hit a 95th-minute winner as Cologne made it two victories in a row, having gone winless for their first 16 games of the campaign.

Cologne remain eight points from safety even after Terrode, who was making his club debut after signing from Stuttgart in December, reacted quickest in the box by firing home a loose ball with time almost up. – AFP