Borussia Dortmund beaten by Villarreal in final test match ahead of the new season

Borussia Dortmund suffered a 2-0 defeat to La Liga side Villarreal in their final test match ahead of their first competitive game of the new season.

Borussia Dortmund went up against Villarreal on Friday evening, aiming to take the next step in their preparations for the new season. But they were made to pay for defensive lapses either side of half time, as Unai Emery’s side recorded a 2-0 win.

Edin Terzic decided to switch his formation to a back three, with Nico Schlotterbeck, Mats Hummels and Niklas Süle starting together in defence for the first time. Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi started up front in what was a very attack-minded BVB line-up.

The Black and Yellows began the game on the front foot and created a number of dangerous openings early on. Karim Adeyemi and Donyell Malen both came close to scoring in the first half. But despite Dortmund’s promising start, it was Villarreal who took the lead.

Gerard Moreno beat the offside trap and got on the end of a defence splitting through ball before finishing past Alexander Meyer on the second attempt to make it 1-0 on the stroke of half time.

Samuel Chukwueze then doubled Villarreal’s lead in the second half with an impressive finish from the edge of the box.

Youssoufa Moukoko had an opportunity to pull a goal back late on, but his shot was well saved by Gerónimo Rulli. And Villarreal managed to see out the win rather comfortably in the end.

There will be plenty of positives and negatives for Edin Terzic to take from this game. BVB certainly showed signs of promise in the first half, but lacked cutting edge and cohesion for much of the game.

Borussia Dortmund will now turn their focus to the DFB-Pokal, where they will go up against third division side 1860 Munich next Friday.