Match Report: BVB crushes Lotte in the DFB Pokal

That was fun!

BVB has now advanced in the DFB cup after a 3-0 victory over 3.Liga side Lotte on neutral ground. The goals come from Pulisic, Schurrle and Schmelzer. Our subs were Merino, Mor and Isak. This was Alexander Isaks first appearance for BVB since we bought him in January.

The first half was a back and forth contest between BVB and Lotte. Lotte controlled the game for the first 25 minutes getting the lions share of shots and chances. Ginter looked terrible today especially in the first half, giving up lots of easy chances to the lower tier Lotte players. With having a two absolute shockers two games in a row, Tuchel should probably consider his place on the team. BVB also had their share of chances. Shinji Kagawa looked to keep his hot streak alive as he made some incredible passes and dribbles throughout the game. Overall the first half was very discouraging to watch from BVB, 0-0 to a 3.Liga club that out shot us wasn’t the best way to start this one.

Things improved vastly in the second half. Ousmane Dembele and Christian Pulisic combined to open up scoring for BVB in the 57th minute. Both these teenagers have been on fire as of late and its good to see them combine so effortlessly to score when the team is in a tough spot. Our lead looked rather safe the rest of the game. In the 66th minute a Shinji cross found Raph Guerreiro who headed it to king of the lumberjacks Andre Schurrle for a goal. Schurrle has not had a great season so far after coming in as BVB’s record signing so it’s good to see him get a goal for himself. The game was pretty much over after that. Lotte seemed to have all the air sucked right out of them. Schmelzer added on to the goal tally with a rare direct free kick goal. BVB has only gotten a few free kick goals the past few years and this is the second one this season after a Raph stunner in the fall. 3-0 was the final score as the ref added no extra time, the game was clearly over. The most important highlight of the last few minutes may be the appearance of Alexander Isak. While Isak didn’t really even touch the ball it’s good to see our winter signing finally getting minutes in black and yellow.

Not much more notable about the game. The referee made some horrid calls on BVB, giving Raph and Shinji soft yellows while ignoring some rough tackles from Lotte. Merino played well as a sub and looks to be a important player in Tuchel’s future plans. Weigl and Aubameyang got some much needed rest this game, lets hope they are ready to go for the weekend.

What are your thoughts on the game? Let us know in the comments.