Match Report
Full house and lots of applause as dress rehearsal ends 2-0
Boris Rupert reporting
The 81,365 spectators at a sold-out SIGNAL IDUNA PARK celebrated goals from Emre Can (penalty) and Julian Brandt after the half-hour mark, in what was BVB's strongest spell of the match against the English Champions League participants.
Personnel matters:
Except for new signing Serhou Guirassy (fitness training), left-back Julian Ryerson (infection) and midfielder Kjell Wätjen (rest after taking a knock to his knee), all first-team squad members were available.
Tactics:
Couto (right) and Schlotterbeck (left) occupied the wide berths in the back four in Dortmund's 4-3-3 formation, while Süle and Anton lined up in central defence. Can and Groß formed the defensive midfield partnership. Because Couto pushed high up the pitch when the team had possession, they more or less had a four-man frontline of Couto, Sabitzer, Brandt and Gittens, with Adeyemi in front of them as a "false 9".
The match & analysis:
In midsummer temperatures – it was well over 30 degrees in the sun on the pitch – both teams started off at a cautious pace. It took until the quarter-hour mark for BVB to register their first shots through Gittens (15) and Schlotterbeck (17), both of which went over the crossbar. Shortly afterwards, Brandt missed a sharp cross towards the back post from Couto, who made a strong impact going forward.
After receiving the ball from Brandt, Adeyemi was brought down by a sliding challenge from Konsa in the 32nd minute and referee Börner immediately pointed to the spot. Can stepped up and fired precisely into the left corner to beat Villa goalkeeper Martinez, who did get his fingertips to it but could not keep it out. Two minutes later, a possession turnover from Couto led to the second goal: Adeyemi subsequently seemed to have lost the ball to Pau in the box, but Brandt seized back possession and finished with a spectacular lob. Kobel did not need to intervene until stoppage time in the first half when he turned Ramsey's header around the upright.
Haller replaced Adeyemi after the restart, while Bensabaini came on in place of Couto, which led to a complete restructuring of the back four: Süle took up the role of right-back, while Anton and Schlotterbeck formed the new central defensive partnership and Bensebaini fulfilled the left-back role that had been Couto's in the first period.
A mistake from Kobel during build-up play presented the English outfit with their first big chance to pull a goal back in the 71st minute, but substitute Archer fired wide of a relatively empty net. However, he did manage to stop a solo effort from Aston Villa in the 90th minute and ensured that the victory remained unblemished.
Outlook:
It will be down to business next Saturday: BVB will then face Regionalliga outfit Phönix Lübeck at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. Kick-off is at 18:00 CEST. Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga campaign will get under way when they play host to Eintracht Frankfurt in 14 days (Saturday 24 August, 18:30 CEST).
Teams & goals
Friendly
BORUSSIA DORTMUND 2-0 (0-0) ASTON VILLA
Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Couto (Bensebaini, 46), Süle (Mané, 88), Anton (Coulibaly, 88), Schlotterbeck (Kabar, 72) – Can (Nmecha, 61), Groß (Özcan, 61) – Sabitzer (Duranville, 61), Brandt (Reyna, 61), Gittens (Malen, 61) – Adeyemi (Haller, 46)
Aston Villa: Martinez – Nedeljkovic, Konsa, Pau, Digne – McGinn, Onana, Tielemans – Ramsey, Philogene, Rogers
Goals: 1-0 Can (penalty for foul on Adeyemi by Kona, 33), 2-0 Brandt (Adeyemi, 35)
Referee: Börner (Iserlohn), yellow cards: none
Attendance: 81,365 (sold-out), weather: sunny, 26 degrees
