Borussia Dortmund's preseason campaign went from bad to worse after a 1-0 loss to Cerezo Osaka in a preseason fixture on Wednesday. Solomon Sakuragawa struck the winner in the eighth minute of the match as the BVB were unable to fight their way back into the contest.
Head coach Niko Kovac made only five changes to his lineup from the 2-1 defeat to Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday night although key forward Serhou Guirassy and goalkeeper Alexander Meyer retained their places in the XI.
Former BVB star Shinji Kagawa had a dangerous-looking attempt go out for a corner, from which Sakuragawa then struck to make it 1-0 as Dortmund's resistence was broken.
The visitors then came close through Joane Gadou while Serhou Guirassy couldn't finish off an enticing chance. Dortmund were also struck with an injury blow when Filippo Mane went off after 35 minutes as they remained 1-0 behind at the break.
A raft of changes followed at the hour mark but an equalizer eluded Dortmund as they lost for the second preseason friendly in a row. Here are three talking points from the clash:
1) Dortmund can't stop conceding
For the third game in a row, Borussia Dortmund have conceded a goal. They fell behind to RW Oberhausen early on, shipped in two second-half goals in Dusseldorf and now, were unable to keep a clean sheet against Cerezo Osaka too.
For a team that finished with the least number of goals conceded in the Bundesliga last season, this is truly shocking. Although it's worth noting that none of their first choice centre-backs - Waldemar Anton, Nico Schlotterbeck and Ramy Bensebaini - have played so far, such a leaky defense shows their options off the bench aren't convincing.
2) Yamamoto fails to shine on Osaka return
Just days after joining Borussia Dortmund from Gamba Osaka, Takato Yamamoto returned to his native city but failed to mark the occasion with anything special. He made a few trademark bucaneering runs but unlike in their win over Oberhausen, it didn't quite come off.
The 18-year-old, who is set for a spell with Dortmund's reserve side after their preseason campaign, set up a nice chance for Guirassy though but the Guinean international was unable to connect with it and the chance went begging.
3) Should Kovac be concerned?
The first pair of games were excused as early days with the BVB squad still gelling in with the new signings as well as players from the academy. But three games down the line, and it still looks all haphazard.
Dortmund are struggling to find their defensive shape while the forwards, including Guirassy, are running desperately short of attacking firepower. The alarm bells haven't gone off yet, but it just may if things don't improve sooner rather than later.
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