Mönchengladbach thrash clueless Wolfsburg

Borussia Mönchengladbach remained in the hunt for European slots with a 3-0 win against Wolfsburg, who sit uncomfortably close to the Bundesliga drop zone.

Stung by last week's 5-1 drubbing at the hands of league leaders FC Bayern Munich, the hosts played like a team that had something to prove and Wolfsburg were never really in the match here on Friday night, reports EFE news agency.

Lars Stindel began the scoring for Mönchengladbach with a goal in the 8th minute and Raffael added a goal in the 35th minute to make it 2-0.

The third goal was emblematic of Wolfsburg's disarray.

The referee awarded a free kick to the hosts in the 44th minute and Christoph Kramer secured the 3-0 before the Wolfsburg keeper and defenders could get into position.

Mönchengladbach remain 8th in the Bundesliga table with 43 points, just three behind sixth-place Hoffenheim, who have a game in hand.

With 30 points, Wolfsburg are 14th, but could fall to 16th depending on how Mainz and Freiburg do in their weekend matches.

--IANS

ajb/