As the footballing world, including Ole Book and Lars Ricken, turned their attention to Deadline Day, Borussia Dortmund began their DFB Pokal campaign against 5th tier Hamburg-Eimsbütteler Ballspiel-Club. Kovac's side entered this match needing a shot of optimism after Giannis Konstantelias's injury to start the season. Fortunately, no cupset followed and Dortmund routed HEBC 5-0 across a very relaxed affair.
The match went as expected with Borussia Dortmund rotating heavily. Marcel Sabitzer, Alexander Meyer, Fabio Silva, Samuele Inácio , Mathis Albert, Joey Veerman, and Filipo Mane came into the starting XI. It took Kovac's men some time to get going with poor finishing, and a great save from Jannik Schoon, keeping the score level. HEBC almost got the first goal of the match in the 30th minute following a one-on-one with Meyer, but the referee called offside. The amateur side did, however, open the scoring on the other end after Ryerson's cutback pass was deflected into the goal by Janek Wrede.
Advertisement
The floodgates then opened. Dortmund proceeded to score three more goals before halftime. Ryerson found Svensson in the 36th minute for a simple volleyed shot on the penalty spot. Inácio then scored two well-taken goals from practically the same spot to round out the first half. Kovac made several changes in the second half, and Fabio Silva scored the lone goal of the second half before both sides posed for a picture after the whistle.
Dortmund will find out their next opponent on September 6. It's difficult to take anything away from a match like this but here we go!
Samuele Inácio Shines
18-year-old Italian, Samuele Inácio, made his season debut for all of three minutes on Saturday before getting a red card for a foolish challenge. It was obviously a stupid challenge, but the teenager quickly faced overblown criticism. Kovac threw his support behind Inácio with some pre-match comments
and gave him the start. Inácio repaid that with two goals and looked like Dortmund's most dangerous player throughout the match.
Advertisement
Obviously, we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. Inácio's goals were well taken but probably would not have come against better opposition (and better keeper) but it's easy to see that Inácio will be an asset for this Dortmund team. If he can continue to develop his game, is given the room to grow, and takes the next step, he could be the one pushing for Konstantelias's spot in the roster.
Mathis Albert has a Role in this Team
I don't like to get ahead of myself when it comes to youth players. Development isn't a consistent; youth players are often asked to play in favorable fixtures and anything
can go wrong at any point. I am optimistic, however, about 17-year-old Mathis Albert's chances. Despite not getting a goal or assist in this game, Albert looked very effective on the touchline and goal line throughout this match. He put up a xG+xA of 0.62, won 5 duels, and notched 19 touches in the opposition's box. It's obvious that he has raw talent; he just needs to play.
The good news for Albert and Dortmund fans is that he now has that opportunity. Kovac's use of Albert in this match should be seen as a statement of intent. He impressed during preseason and has earned a role in the team, albeit one from the bench. Albert was an unused substitute on Saturday's match and should be getting playing time this year. After playing just one minute last year, between 200 to 500 minutes would be a huge win for both Dortmund and Albert. (For context, Jamie Gittens played 527 Bundesliga minutes in the 2022/23 Bundesliga season when he was 18).
Advertisement
A (Temporary) Departure from the Back Three
Again, it's difficult to take anything out of a match like this because the team is just coming out of a preseason and HEBC is a side with an obvious talent disadvantage. Dortmund could have played with two defenders and likely would have come out as winners. That being said, I was still interested in Kovac's departure from a back three. He's been married
to that back three and some writers (me) wrote off any idea that Kovac would use a back four
.
Well, he used a back four for this match! Veerman and Nmecha took turns sitting at the base of midfield while Sabitzer played ahead of them. HEBC's low block allowed Dortmund to push more players into the box, and ultimately the game was played in Dortmund's attacking third. Still, this could be a sign that Kovac may utilize a 4-3-3 structure when he expects opponents to sit deep. Will it work against more talented opponents? I'm skeptical!
Your Thoughts
What were your takeaways from this match?
