Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac reserved special praise for Mathis Albert after the young American struck in their 2-1 friendly loss to Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday.
Albert put the Black and Yellow in front after 20 minutes but Kovac's side conceded twice after the break to lose the tie, marking their first defeat of the pre-season campaign.
While Takato Yamamoto grabbed headlines last weekend for an eye-catching display, it was Albert's turn this time around to demonstrate his prodigious talents.
The 17-year-old asked questions of Dusseldorf's backline with his electric pace and prolific dribbling ability - he completed all three of his dribbles on the day - while also completing most of his passes in the opposition half.
Speaking about Albert to the press after the game, Kovac was full of purple prose for the teenager.
"“You can see what skills he has. He’s very fast and a strong dribbler. I have to say, he really gave it his all today. He scored the goal in his own style, with plenty of technique and speed. You can definitely see that we have some very talented lads, and we want to try to integrate one or two of them into the team. And he’s certainly one of them.” "said the Croatian manager
A long kick from Alexander Meyer found Albert deep inside Dusseldorf's area and the American pranced forward at full pelt, beating his marker before rounding off goalkeeper Lasse Riess, who rushed off his line in an attempt to intercept it, to slam it home for 1-0.
Albert joined Borussia Dortmund in 2024 from LA Galaxy and continued his development with the side's youth academy before finally breaking into the senior team in April this year by coming off the bench in their 4-0 Bundesliga win over Freiburg.
In doing so, he also became the youngest American to ever feature in the German top-flight at 16 years and 340 days, surpassing the previous record held by Giovanni Reyna, who also set it with Dortmund when he was 17 years and two months old.
Meanwhile teenagers Takato Yamamoto and Enzo Duarte, who both made compelling debuts last weekend, flattered to deceive big time on Saturday. Both players cut a toothless figure here, struggling to bring their A-1 game on their first starts for Borussia Dortmund.
The club will continue their pre-season campaign in Japan, where they are scheduled to face Cerezo Osaka on 29 July and FC Tokyo on 1 August.
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