Match Review: BVB Prepared for the Rückrunde as they beat Sparta Prague

In our last friendly before going up against BMG in the Rückrunde, we took another winter friendly win as we beat Sparta Prague 3-1. Our goal scorers were Auabmeyang (41',65' ) and Mkhitaryan (68') with David Lafata (49') netting for Sparta. We opened the scoring with Aubas knocking in a easy goal from a insane Gündoğan backheel. The Lafata goal was no small feat as he netted it past Buerki but we weren't equal for long as Auba got his second goal on an assist from Ginter.  The goal from Mkhitaryan came from a Leitner assist and locked the game down.

Things of Note

• The Sokratis and Hummels CB pair looked as meh as ever, but Tuchel seems to believe that is our best option for the beginning of the season.  With Bender hurt and Subotic still on his way back from injury, he may not be wrong.
• Park looked good again after his great showing last week. If his form upholds we will definitely have a great race for the LB spot. Depth is something we could always use at BVB
• We had a ton of our young players show in the game late. The notable young subs were Passlack, Larsen, Serra, Stenzel and Pulisic. All these players looked fine out there even in their limited playing time.
• Leitner had a assist and was very active in his limited game time with a great asset to Mkhitaryan. He has proved himself this break more than any other player and I'd expect him to grab a much more involved role as a sub and rotation player for weekly games.
• WE HAD A DURM SIGHTING AGAIN. Erik Durm played well in his minutes in the game and we hope he continues to get better.
• This game was a great warm up for BMG and the players seem to have boosted their confidence with this winter break

Getting self-confidence for Mönchengladbach ✅ #bvbpra #hejabvb #victory #pea17 pic.twitter.com/0MMGaOBMMO

— Ilkay Gündogan (@Guendogan8) January 19, 2016