Borussia Dortmund sporting manager Nils-Ole Book backed his side to recapture their mojo ahead of their massive showdown with arch-rivals Bayern Munich next week.
The BVB host the Bundesliga champions at the Westfalonstadion in the curtain-raiser on Saturday as Niko Kovac's side aim to end their five-year trophy drought.
After a hectic run of games, Dortmund officially closed their preseason campaign with a pulsating 2-2 draw with Roma yesterday which saw them come back from two goals down too.
Paulo Dybala and Bryan Cristante struck apiece inside the opening 10 minutes of the clash as Die Prussians trailed 2-0 early on with their defense in complete shambles.
However, the hosts got their act together and clawed right back into it.
Norwegian ace Julian Ryerson, making his first appearance post the World Cup, pulled one back in the 12th minute by finishing a cross from Daniel Svensson.
The assist king then turned provider for Serhou Guirassy near the half-hour mark, whipping in a lovely free-kick for the Guinean marksman to slam home from close-range.
Ole Book, who was in attendance for the match, explained that BVB's struggles could be because they haven't been at full strength for a majority of their preseason run.
"We got off to a very poor start and had major problems finding our defensive shape. Of course, you have to take into account that we haven’t been at full strength for very long and that we’re still missing a few key defensive players."
He later praised the side for getting out of second gear in attack while expressing confidence in BVB hitting the throttle ahead of the daunting season opener against Bayern in the Supercup.
"After that, we showed a lot of very good things, especially in our offensive play. Now we have another week of training, the Super Cup, and then the Bundesliga. I think we’ll be at our best by then at the latest."
Dortmund remained firmly in control of the match in the second half too, seeing the better chances, but the lack of cutting edge kept them from finding a third goal that would have won them the clash.
Interestingly, this was their first draw of the 2026 preseason campaign after having seen three wins and two losses from the previous five.
Next Saturday, the Ruhr Valley outfit come up against Bayern in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup with eyes on a first official silverware since 2021.
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