Match Recap: Borussia Dortmund Defeat Urawa Red Diamond 3-2

Borussia Dortmund was humbled by fourth tier side, Rot Weiss Essen in the first game of the preseason. The Black and Yellows have now moved to Japan as Peter Bosz seeks his first victory. They come up against J.League side, Urawa Red Diamonds. Here is the match review from the game.

Match Highlights

First Half

Lineup – Weidenfeller, Piszczek, Bartra, Toprak, Schmelzer, Sahin, Castro, Rode, Pulisic, Aubameyang, Schürrle. 

Dembele was named in the starting XI  but felt ill before the start of the game. Andre Schürrle replaced the French youngster.

Dortmund started on the back foot as the Japanese club out pressure on the defense. But the Black and Yellows regained control by the end of first 10 minutes.

At the 15^th minute mark, Dortmund got a flurry of chances but was unable to convert it into a goal. It all started when Marc Bartra’s header hit the bar and dropped just before the line. Aubameyang made his way into a shooting position but was blocked by a defender. Urawa cleared the resulting corner to end the spell of Dortmund’s pressure.

Urawa Red Diamonds began to probe the defense using their wing play and long ball techniques. They came close to scoring but were denied by Weidenfeller at the near post in the 22nd minute.

2 minutes later, they found the back of the net as Koroki headed the ball from a corner. Dortmund was facing difficulties in breaking their opponent’s defense. In the 38th minute, Marc Bartra got an incredible opportunity to level the score but shot wide as the ball dropped on his feet from a corner.

Red Diamonds were probing in for a 2nd goal before half time, but the defense somehow kept them at bay. Dortmund was dominating possession but lacked the edge to break the Urawa defense through the first half.

Second Half

Lineup – Weidenfeller, Piszczek, Subotic, Sokratis, Zagadou, Schmelzer, Sahin, Castro, Schürrle, Mor, Isak.

Dortmund adopted a more aggressive approach as they look to break down Diamond’s defense. But their opponents were up to the task and looked to use counter attacking style. The first 10 minutes of the second half didn’t have much to offer.

In the 56th minute, Emre Mor took a stunning shot from the edge of the box, but the keeper put up an equally stunning save. Immediately, Red Diamond’s broke into the Dortmund defense, but Weidenfeller proved big in the one-on-one situation.

The tide shifted as Urawa looked likely to double the lead, but the defense stood tall. In the 62nd minute, the moment we were waiting for arrived as Mario Gotze came on for Nuri Sahin.

With 20 minutes on board, Dortmund was still finding their first goal but was lacking to find a shot on goal. In the 76th minute, Emre Mor made way through the defense and scored an equalizer from a tight angle.

In a couple of minutes,  Dortmund found themselves in the lead with a stunning shot from Emre Mor that beat the keeper to make it 2-1.

Weidenfeller almost gave the lead away in an attempt to sweep a long ball. But Urawa failed to convert the opportunity into a goal.

Urawa kept knocking at the door and finally broke in. In the 85 minute, Urawa received a corner which Endo converted with a header at the far post.

2 minutes later, Dortmund regained the lead as Schürrle got on the score sheet to make it 3-2. Emre Mor’s long ball was deflected to Andre’s feet as he put the ball in the back of the net with ease.

Match Thoughts 

Dortmund managed to see out the game as they picked up a 3-2 victory against the Urawa Red Diamonds. It was not a convincing victory for the Black and Yellows, but Peter Bosz would be happy with the performances in the second half especially Emre Mor, who scored a double and played a part in the third.