Borussia Dortmund vs Villarreal: CONFIRMED squads, match stats and LIVE blog!

Borussia Dortmund are stepping up their preparations for the new season without the young American Gio Reyna against Arnaut Danjuma and the Spanish team of Villarreal in a friendly on Friday in Austria (kick-off: 7:00 p.m.).

CONFIRMED teams

Dortmund: Meyer – Süle, Hummels, Schlotterbeck – Meunier, Bellingham, Brandt, Guerreiro – Malen, Adeyemi, Reus (c)
Subtitles: Lotka, Morey, Hazard, Wolf, Moukoko, Passlack, Kamara, Bynoe-Gittens, Coulibaly, Fink
Out: Haller (medical), Özcan (hitting), Reyna (fitness match)
Coach: Edin Terzic

Villarreal: Rulli – Foyth, Mandi, Torres, Estupinan – Yeremy, Parejo, Coquelin, Baena – Moreno, Danjuma
Subtitles: Reina, Gianni, Morlanes, Albiol, Capua, Iborra, Chukwueze, Trigueros, Dia, Jackson, Morales, Pedraza, Cuenca, Dela
Out:
Coach: Unai Emery

Live Blog

THE BREAKTHROUGH OF VILLARREAL

One of BVB’s concerns has been the relative ease with which Villarreal have sometimes breached their high defensive line. It was thanks to such a move that Unai Emery’s side took the lead before the break, with Moreno slipping away before finishing on the second attempt.

ADEYEMI ON THE TOUR

BVB steal possession and the ball goes to Adeyemi, who spins and shoots low on target. Yes, you guessed it, Rulli makes the save.

DORTMUND COUNTER

Back at the other end, Brandt pulls one more save from Rulli. The loose ball reached Malen whose shot was deflected a few centimeters from the frame thanks to the crucial touch from Pau. Entertainment at the top.

GRATEFUL MEYER

It was a big chance for Villarreal. With Danjuma running to goal and with time to choose his spot, the Villarreal man appeared to be caught between two minds; he controls poorly and allows Meyer to collect easily.

camera

BVB IN CONTROL

Dortmund have had the majority of the ball in this game so far and appear to be the more threatening side having produced more clear scoring chances than their opponents, who have just one thwarted counterattack to show for their efforts so far.

© Imago

WATER BREAK

Both teams enjoy a well-deserved refreshment under the hot Austrian sun.

FRUSTRATED RULLI BVB

Reus feeds Malen with a magnificent through pass. The Dutch striker strikes for the first time but Rulli goes back to beating the ball. Son after, Brandt attempts the goal from distance but Rulli is there to save, this time holding on.

HAND BAGS

There’s been a bit of a hassle in the “friendly” so far, no doubt. Villarreal’s Gerard pushes Guerreiro through the air near the touchline and the referee says enough is enough.

RULLI AGAINST REUS

Reus rushes a through ball on the left and looks for control, but Rulli comes out of his line to clear. A crucial intervention from the Spanish goalkeeper on the spot.

ADEYEMI IS CLOSING

Ooooh, it was a big chance for Adeyemi, whose swift movement saw him make inroads in the Villarreal area. The striker looked to find the corner with a low drive but Rulli was there to deflect the shot for a corner.

MALENIC MAGIC

A tasty volley from Malen, who steals his opponent then rolls the ball between his legs to set up an attack. Loud applause from the local audience. They appreciated that.

TERZIC SATISFIED

Coach Edin Terzic offers cheering applause for his side in the Austrian evening sun. Dortmund appear to be in good form and made a rather positive start to this friendly.

SÜLE TO THE BVB RESCUE

Villarreal break and just as it looks like Mandi has the run on Süle as the last man, the giant defender pops a leg out and calmly wipes away the danger. Superb defense.

RULLI trembling

The corner is kicked in from Dortmund’s right and with Rulli coming in and missing with a punch, Schlotterbeck is inches away from making contact and taking advantage of the keeper’s error.

LUCK REUS!

Mats Hummels leads his team from the back and the ball ends up heading for Marco Reus whose low shot is blocked by Rulli in the Villarreal goal. An almost perfect start for BVB.

GAME ON!

Villarreal gets us started….

WE ARE ALL READY!

The teams are out on a beautiful evening at the Cashpoint Arena in Altach, Austria. The stadium is full, the atmosphere is electric and it’s time to kick off!

DORTMUND ALMOST COMPLETE

Tonight will be Borussia’s penultimate test before opening their 2022/23 campaign at home to Bayer Leverkusen on August 6. Edin Terzic’s men have so far won friendly victories against Lüner SV (3-1), Dynamo Dresden (2-0) and SC Verl (5-0) despite losing recently 3-1 against Valencia. After the game against Villarreal tonight, BVB will face Antalyaspor on July 30.

UNDER VILLARREAL

Reina, Gianni, Morlanes, Albiol, Capua, Iborra, Chukwueze, Trigueros, Dia, Jackson, Morales, Pedraza, Cuenca, Dela

VILLARREAL START XI

Villarreal: Rulli – Foyth, Mandi, Pau Torres, Estupinan – Yeremy, Parejo, Coquelin, Baena – Gerard Moreno, Danjuma

“THE BRUTAL INTENSITY” OF DORTMUND

BVB’s recent arrival Nico Schlotterbeck will certainly be one to watch tonight, with the defender forming part of a back three alongside fellow new signing Niklas Süle and prop Mats Hummels. Here’s what the former Freiburg man had to say about Dortmund’s pre-season so far: “The intensity is brutal, it’s normal for pre-season. But I didn’t expect this be so high. It’s almost exclusively internationals here. But it’s great fun to compete against the best.”

CAPTAIN REUS

Dortmund legend Reus, who has racked up over 500 appearances for the Bundesliga side, captain Die Schwarzgelben in Austria tonight.

BVB TEAM NEWS

This match comes too soon for BVB’s USMNT star Gio Reyna, who continues to work on his comeback from a muscle injury. Also missing for the Blacks and Yellows tonight is new signing Sebastien Haller, the recovering striker having recently been diagnosed with an illness.

BVB SUBSCRIPTIONS

Lotke, Morey, Hazard, Wolf, Moukoko, Passlack, Kamara, Bynoe-Gittens, Coulibaly, Fink

BVB starting XI

Meyer – Süle, Hummels, Schlotterbeck – Meunier, Bellingham, Brandt, Guerreiro – Malen, Adeyemi, Reus (c)

Welcome among us !

Hello and welcome to this intriguing pre-season friendly between Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund and La Liga’s Villarreal. We’ll have all the pre-match squad news and action from the big game from the Cashpoint Arena in Austria right here!

Last

New Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic has promised to facilitate Reyna’s return to action after the 19-year-old’s injury campaign in 2021/22, so there is no sign of him during of his team’s fifth pre-season test. The game against Villarreal is Dortmund’s second friendly of the week at Altach against a Spanish opposition, with Marco Reus scoring a consolation goal in Monday’s 3-1 loss to Valencia. The club have been rocked by the news that new striker Sebastien Haller is set to be sidelined with illness, with Terzic revealing he was informed of the setback just before their last game. It was therefore difficult to focus on football, but the Dortmund manager nevertheless said his side learned “a lot of lessons” from the Valencia encounter. Villarreal will present a similar challenge, so summer signings Nico Schlotterbeck and Karim Adeyemi will have further chances to fit in after their first outing for Dortmund on Monday.

UEFA Europa League winners in 2020/21 and UEFA Champions League semi-finalists last season, Villarreal picked up their first pre-season victory against PSV Eindhoven last week. Unai Emery’s side, who finished seventh in Spain last season, won 2-1 thanks to goals from youngsters Yeremy Pino and Nicolas Jackson. There is a familiar face in their squad in the form of striker Paco Alcacer, who left Dortmund for Villarreal two years ago, but Danjuma was their top scorer last season with 16 in all competitions. The Dutch striker is back in attack with cunning Spain international Gerard Moreno, while the Yellow Submarine should be strong at the back with the sturdy Raul Albiol and Pau Torres. Villarreal have also recently added 39-year-old former Bayern Munich goalkeeper Pepe Reina to their ranks.

Look: Dortmund-Valencia highlights

Match statistics

  • Reyna netted two goals and one assist in 10 Bundesliga appearances last season but missed more than 30 games through injury.
  • Reus is Dortmund’s top scorer in pre-season so far with three. Youssoufa Moukoko and summer signing Prince Aning have two.
  • This is BVB’s last friendly before the competition begins with a trip to third tier 1860 Munich in the DFB Cup on July 29.
  • One of Danjuma’s six Champions League goals in 2021/22 was won by Bayern in the quarter-finals.
  • Alcacer scored 26 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund from the summer of 2018 to January 2020, including 18 in 26 appearances during the 2018/19 Bundesliga season.
  • Villarreal’s new goalkeeper Reina played three Bundesliga appearances for Bayern Munich in the 2014/15 campaign in his only season in Germany.

Comments are closed.