Three takeaways from Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 win over Rot-Weiß Oberhausen

Midfield concerns

Ole Pohlmann and Antonios Papadopoulos started in midfield and did not have the best of games, as Borussia Dortmund struggled to gain control in the first half. The duo struggled to give BVB any impetus against the fourth division side.

While still having the caveat of it being pre-season, these are third division footballers playing a team in the division below them. Papadopoulos is more of a centre-back, and he was a bit exposed in midfield and passed repeatedly to the opposition with no Dortmund player around.

There were also plenty of giveaways early and often in the game, with Niklas Süle and Mats Hummels looking scared to pass the ball into midfield at times. Ole Pohlmann often looked to push higher up the pitch than Marco Reus, who had to drop in deep to receive the ball.

This won’t be an issue for the first-team, with Julian Brandt and Emre Can excellent in distribution but this could be a weakness that the U-23s may look to address. Further, as the U-19s players came on, they looked a lot sharper and gave the team more control.