BVB loses second friendly at Fortuna Düsseldorf | OneFootball

BVB head coach Niko Kovac once again relied heavily on the club’s own youth players at the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA in Düsseldorf. A total of six young talents under the age of 20 were in Dortmund’s starting lineup—including summer signings Takato Yamamoto and Joane Gadou.

However, Maxi Beier, Waldemar Anton, Felix Nmecha, and Daniel Svensson were not yet back in Dortmund’s squad, having only returned on Friday for performance testing.

Under ideal weather conditions, BVB displayed a very solid defensive structure from the start in front of the crowd. Joane Gadou, Filippo Mane, and Jan-Luca Riedl formed the back three in front of goalkeeper Alexander Meyer in the first half.

Serhou Guirassy’s first dangerous shot narrowly missed the goal when he curled a free kick from 22 meters just wide to the right (9th minute).

Albert Scores to Give BVB the Lead

Mathis Albert fared better, reacting quickest to a long clearance from goalkeeper Alex Meyer. The 17-year-old outran Fortuna goalkeeper Lasse Rieß with the ball at his feet and effortlessly slotted it home in the 20th minute to give BVB a 1-0 lead.

After taking the lead, BVB—who dominated possession—continued to push the pace; Guirassy narrowly missed a cross from 16-year-old Marwan Mirza on the right wing following a strong individual effort by the youngster.

The only downside was the substitution of Enzo Duarte, who signaled knee pain and was replaced by Jobe Bellingham shortly before halftime.

In the second half, the momentum shifted in favor of the third-division side. As early as the 50th minute, the F95 fans were celebrating the equalizer. Center back Dominique Heintz, who has Bundesliga experience, flicked on a free kick from the left side to forward Fabian Schleusener, who simply had to tap it in to make it 1–1.

Ritter Stopped by the F95 Goalkeeper

From then on, the BVB team continued to struggle against a solid Düsseldorf defense. Dortmund’s best chance, a shot by Romeo Ritter, was scraped out of the corner of the net by Lasse Rieß (64th minute).

Otherwise, Düsseldorf created more chances and celebrated their second goal in the 79th minute: Lukas Eixler was sent down the right flank—in a play that looked suspiciously offside—but then delivered a pinpoint cross into the middle to Anas Slimani, who scored with a first-time volley to make it 2–1 for Fortuna.

Shortly before that, a second BVB youngster, Elias Benkara, was substituted due to injury. In the closing stages, the Black and Yellows pushed hard for a late equalizer. Samuele Inacio’s last big chance (90+4) was once again saved by the F95 goalkeeper.

Borussia Dortmund will now embark on a long journey as early as Sunday when the BVB Evonik Japan Tour kicks off.

FORTUNA DÜSSELDORF – Borussia Dortmund 2:1 (0:1)

Friendly, MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA Saturday, July 25, 1:00 p.m.