Match Recap: Borussia Dortmund 2:0 KFC Uerdingen

Borussia Dortmund officially kicked off their 2019-20 competitive campaign with a convincing 2-0 victory over KFC Uerdingen in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. It might have taken a while for BVB to get on the board, but they always looked the better side and controlled the play from start to finish. BVB can now look forward to their first game in the Bundesliga next weekend, with two victories already in the bank.

Although BVB actually went scoreless in the first half, it wasn’t because of a lack of chances. Even though Dortmund had trouble progressing the ball through the center of the pitch, they created a lot down the wings, with PIszczek and Schulz pushing forward, whipping many low-crosses into high-danger areas. Hazard alone found Paco Alcacer with at least two or three quality balls into the box, but unfortunately the Spaniard couldn’t bury any of them. Lukasz Piszczek almost drew first blood off a corner kick, but BVB legend Kevin Großkreutz headed the ball off the line.

KFC Uerdingen couldn’t manage much going the other way. The two major chances they did generate both resulted from errors by Mats Hummels: one in which Hummels was simply stripped off the ball while running with it, and another after Mats took a poor first-touch after receiving a back-pass in a dangerous position. Luckily, neither turnover resulted in a goal.

The first half ended without a goal, but it didn’t take long for Dortmund to break the ice in the second. Only three minutes into the second half, Manuel Akanji looped a beautiful weighted cross into the box. Marco Reus brought it down and poked it effortlessly into the far corner, putting BVB ahead. On the replay, it looked like Reus brought the ball down off his upper-arm. Although I could have seen it being called handball, play continued.

With the pressure now on Uerdingen to find a tying-goal, the game became more open, and it wasn’t long before BVB doubled their lead. After KFC conceded a foul near the top of the penalty box in the 70th minute, Paco Alcacer stepped up and curled a direct free kick into the top right corner of the net.

With only twenty minutes left, and few offensive threats coming from KFC Uerdingen, this was all but the final nail in the coffin. BVB were in total control of the game, and calmly saw off the remaining twenty minutes or so. Achraf Hakimi, Mario Götze, and Jacob Bruun Larsen each saw cameo appearances coming off the bench.

Although a 2-0 scoreline against a third-tier opponent might not sound impressive, it was a comfortable and dominating performance from BVB, in which the result never seemed in doubt. It’s now time for Dortmund to prepare to make another run at the Meisterschale, with the first match of the Bundesliga against Augsburg next Saturday.