This was the second of three match days for both Borussia Dortmund and Mamelodi Sundowns FC. Mamelodi Sundowns beat Ulsan HD FC on June 17th, and Dortmund drew against Fluminense on June 17th. That means the pressure was on Dortmund today to get all three points to try and have better odds of making it to the knockout stage. A draw would have put Sundowns in poll position to advance. So the stakes were high for both teams, but probably a bit higher for the German powerhouse Dortmund.
First Half
Bourissia Dortmund came out playing a very high back line leaving tons of space for attackers to make runs behind them. And in the first 15 to 20 minutes Mamelodi Sundowns did just that. Multiple balls over the back line of the Dortmund defenders put the Sundowns in on goal. The South African club has players with lot of pace, and it was giving Dortmund fits early on.
Ten minutes in Sundowns found a break through. Tashreeq Matthews played a sublime path into the path of Lucas Ribeiro. Ribeiro still had a few defenders to beat, and he beat them well, making two very good players look silly. It was a cool finish to the left of the keeper Gregor Kobel. Dortmund didn’t really have an answer for anything the Sundowns did through the first 15 minutes of the match.
Unfortunately in the 16th minute, the Sundowns keeper made a terrible mistake. It looked like Ronwen Williams was just trying to make a simple pass, but he passed it right to Felix Nmecha and it was an easy tap in finish. It’s unclear if Williams just didn’t see Nmecha or if he thought it was one of his players, but Dortmund couldn’t have asked for an easier equalizer.
As the half went on Dortmund grew into the match. They were being more physical with the forwards of the Sundowns to try and slow the runs behind, and put more pressure on the midfield. Sundowns still had most of the possession, but they weren’t creating chances.
At the 34-minute mark the deadlock was broken. Dortmund forced a turnover deep into Sundowns’ territory and played a couple nice one two passes to work the ball out to the right wing. Julian Brandt lifted a perfect cross to the back post and Serhou Guirassy headed it home. It was a really high-quality goal that came against the run of play.
Right before half time Dortmund would find a third goal from a familiar name. Jobe Bellingham notched his first goal with his new club in just his second appearance. Jobe is the young brother of Jude Bellingham who was a wonderful player for Dortmund and has since moved to Real Madrid. It was a good goal from Jobe. A deletion from the Sundowns keeper who was trying to clear out a cross in the box came right to Bellingham. He chested it down and with one strike tucked it into the net.
Second Half
Despite being down by two goals to a superior opponent, Mamelodi Sundowns came out in the second half as hot as they did in the first half. They put plenty of pressure on the backline of Dortmund with their pace and direct nature of their passes. The Sundowns play a very ascetically pleasing game and did not appear to be scared of the stronger opponent.
The Sundowns were dominating possession again in the second half, but it was Dortmund who scored the first goal of the second half. There was a nice bit of buildup play through the middle with one touch passes left and right, until the ball was worked out wide to Daniel Svensson. Svensson tried to cross the ball back across the box, but it took a weird deflection off Khuliso Mudau and ended up in the net for an own goal.
The one thing that showed throughout the match was Sundowns’ no quit mentality. After the own goal they were down three goals, but they looked totally unphased by it. Dortmund scored their fourth goal in the 60th minute. Just two minutes later the Sundowns scored one right back and it was game on once again. It was a great goal off a set piece; a free kick straight to the head of Iqraam Rayners to make it 4-2.
Mamelodi kept pushing for more goals, and eventually it paid off, but just a little too late. A turnover by Dortmund in their defensive half put the Sundowns on attack quickly. With two passes they were in the box. Lebo Mothiba was one on one with Kobel and he beat him low and to the right making it 4-3.
There were six minutes of stoppage time, but Mamelodi Sundowns couldn’t find the equalizer and it ended 4-3 with Dortmund picking up a crucial victory.
Post Match
Despite the loss, Mamelodi Sundowns FC should hold their heads high they went toe to toe with one of the top clubs in Germany. At times they were flat out the better team. Take away one bad mistake and this is a draw. It was a very impressive performance from the champions of South Africa.
For Dortmund this was a massive victory. Sitting on four points and at the top of the group with a match against Ulsan HD FC on Wednesday afternoon, they are in great shape to move on to the knockout stage. While they didn’t have the majority of the possession in this match, they did create more chances and took advantage of every mistake. They will need to have more focus when holding a big lead, but it’s looking like they are moving on to the next round.
Scoring Summary: 3-4 FT
Mamelodi Sundowns FC: Lucas Ribeiro- 11′; Iqraam Rayners- 62′; Lebo Mothiba- 90′
Borussia Dortmund: Felix Nmecha- 16′; Serhou Guirassy- 34′; Jobe Bellingham- 45′; Khuliso Mudau- 60′ OG
Mamelodi Sundowns FC: Ronwen Williams, Khuliso Mudau, Keanu Cupido, Grant Kekana Divine Lunga, Teboho Mokoena (Arthur Sales 70′), Lucas Ribeiro (Thapelo Morena 70′), Themba Zwane (Kutlwano Lethlaku 86′), Marcelo Allende, Tashreeq Matthews ( Jayden Adams 70′), Iqraam Rayners (Lebo Mothiba 77′)
Manager: Miguel Cardoso
Borussia Dortmund: Gregor Kobel, Ramy Bensebaini, Waldemar Anton, Niklas Süle (Julian Ryerson 83′), Daniel Svensson, Pascal Groß, Felix Nmecha (Marcel Sabitzer 62′), Yan Couto, Serhou Guirassy (Karim Adeyemi 90’+2′), Jobe Bellingham (Maximilian Beier 83′), Julian Brandt ( Carney Chukwuemeka 62′)
Manager: Niko Kovac
Stats Summary: Mamelodi/Dortmund
Shots: 16/8
Shots on target: 4/6
Saves: 3/1
Corners: 2/4
Fouls: 9/15
Possession: 60%/40%
Misconduct Summary
Mamelodi Sundowns FC: Tashreeq Matthews Yellow card 66′, Marcelo Allende Yellow card 90’+5′
Borussia Dortmund: Carney Chukwuemeka Yellow card 64′, Maximilian Beier Yellow card 85′
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