Borussia Dortmund cruise to 6-1 win over TSV Schott Mainz in season opener
By Tushar Bahl
Borussia Dortmund are through to the second round of the DFB-Pokal after earning a comfortable 6-1 win over TSV Schott Mainz.
There was no giant killing at the MEWA Arena on Saturday as Borussia Dortmund began their 2023/24 campaign with a dominant 6-1 win over TSV Schott Mainz. Sebastien Haller (x2), Julian Brandt, Marcel Sabitzer, Donyell Malen and Youssoufa Moukoko were all on target for the Black and Yellows against the fourth division side.
TSV Schott Mainz put in a resilient shift all things considered, and also caused their Bundesliga opponents a few problems on the counter-attack. But Borussia Dortmund’s attacking prowess helped them earn a rather straightforward win in the end.
Edin Terzic didn’t spring any major surprises with his starting XI, as Marco Reus replaced the injured Karim Adeyemi and Marcel Sabitzer started alongside Julian Brandt in midfield. Gregor Kobel recovered from his injury to start between the sticks for Borussia Dortmund.
As you’d expect, Borussia Dortmund began the game on the front foot and came close to opening the scoring in the third minute. But Niklas Süle’s header fizzed just wide of the target.
Schott Mainz managed to keep Borussia Dortmund at bay for 22 minutes. But Sebastien Haller found the breakthrough with a fine header after getting on the end of Julian Brandt’s cross.
Brandt turned from provider to scorer two minutes later, as he turned home Donyell Malen’s low cross to make it 2-0.
The home side pulled a goal back in the 34th minute through Nils Gans. But Haller quickly squashed any hopes of an unlikely comeback by scoring from close range and giving Borussia Dortmund a 3-1 lead going into the break.
Borussia Dortmund added a fourth in the 57th minute, with new signing Marcel Sabitzer getting on the scoresheet on his debut.
Donyell Malen then scored the pick of the goals in the 79th minute by finding the top corner with a fine effort from the edge of the box. Youssoufa Moukoko added more gloss to the score-line in the 85th minute to secure a 6-1 win for last season’s Bundesliga runners-up.
Next. Borussia Dortmund player ratings from 6-1 win over TSV Schott Mainz. dark
It wasn’t a spectacular performance by any means from Borussia Dortmund. But they got the job done quite comfortably, and also scored six goals. Up next for BVB is a home game against FC Köln on matchday one of the Bundesliga season.