“It’s not a disaster, but we need a clear improvement!” | OneFootball

The match statistics spoke for themselves: Dortmund only won 44% of their tackles and had seven shots on goal compared to their opponents' 14. That's not to say the Brazilians created many chances either, with only 0.64 xGoals (expected goals) compared to 0.24 for BVB. The Black & Yellows' comments after the match were equally clear. “We didn't get a foothold. We were a step off the pace,” said Pascal Gross. “We played too slowly,” said Waldemar Anton. And Julian Brandt noted: “They were more aggressive, but that was also because we kept playing through the centre. They were on the front foot, always looking to break out. Our solutions were actually on the wings, but we didn't take advantage of them.”

Julian Ryerson and Daniel Svensson were virtually uninvolved in Dortmund’s sluggish attacking play. And Fluminense had the centre of the park under control. The special circumstances were mentioned, but should not be used as an excuse (Gregor Kobel). In addition to the climatic conditions – it was extremely humid and the grass was unusually short – there was also the time difference. While Borussia have only been in the USA since Friday, Fluminense operate in virtually the same time zone. Borussia played their last game on 17 May, the Brazilians came straight from their active domestic season.

“It’s not a disaster, but we need a clear improvement,” warned Pascal Gross, while Waldemar Anton stated: “At the end of the day, we got a point, and that’s the most important thing. So we’ll take the point and try to do better in the next few games.” Borussia Dortmund are treating the 0-0 draw as a point gained and are aiming to win their next two matches against Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa and Ulsan HD from South Korea. Incidentally, the meeting between these two sides ended 1-0 in favour of the Africans.

“The guys who played a lot will recover, the others will do a little bit more work, and then the guys will have the afternoon off so they can clear their heads,” announced Niko Kovac. “Being in the hotel under air conditioning all the time isn’t easy. That’s why they should get out a bit in the afternoon, explore the area a little – and then we’ll definitely meet up again in the evening.”Boris Rupert

All the information about the Club World Cup (tickets, all matches live and free of charge on DAZN) can be found at bvb.de/cwc. The BVB app (click to download) will also keep all BVB fans up to date on events in the USA.