Aubameyang the Only Worry as Borussia Dortmund Look Primed for Bundesliga Start

Borussia Dortmund advanced to the second round of the DFB-Pokal with ease on Monday night, beating Regionalliga side Eintracht Trier 3-0 in Moselstadion.

The Black and Yellows famously fell to the hosts in the 1997/98 cup season, going out against the then-third-division side as UEFA Champions League holders. Rudolf Thommes scored the opener in that game and won a penalty that doubled Trier’s lead.

Today, the 47-year-old is an assistant coach, which prompted Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel to tell German broadcaster ARD before the game he’d prefer Thommes watch the game from the stand, just in case his cup spirit might change over to the underdogs on the pitch.

Those concerns were quickly dispatched, however, with the visitors starting the game at full throttle.

Tuchel had somewhat surprisingly opted for only one change from the team that lost the DFL-Supercup to Bayern a week before, with Andre Schurrle making his full debut instead of Adrian Ramos.

In midfield, it was again a double pivot of Sebastian Rode and Gonzalo Castro, who have their strengths in pressing and counter-pressing and like to make runs into the penalty box, but not in possession. With Trier fielding 10 men behind the ball at most times, Dortmund’s midfield selection could have proved problematic had the game been goalless into the second half.

However, it only took them eight minutes to more or less settle the game. With their goal, the Black and Yellows punished the hosts for their first venture into enemy territory. With two men committed forward, Trier allowed Dortmund to gain ground with quick passing.

Shinji Kagawa, who got the nod in the No. 10 role with Mario Gotze out of the game, played a simple pass out wide to Schurrle. The 25-year-old had acres of space with right-back Florian Riedel engaging the Japanese playmaker far out of his position. His good ball towards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the area was blocked nicely into the path of Kagawa, who had stayed alert and kept his run going.

As the video below shows, it was a nice and easy goal to settle the nerves early in the game:

Kagawa’s opener for #BVB in the #DFBPokal via: @poordent pic.twitter.com/658Ko0VEQJ

— Onefootball (@Onefootball) August 22, 2016

As always in these cup ties against lower-league competition, getting an early goal is crucial, because it almost sucks the air out of the stadium. If Trier had any belief they could manage the sensation and kick Dortmund out of the DFB-Pokal, that hope died an early death.

1 – @BVB and @FCBayernEN scored with their 1st shot in @DFB_Pokal 2016/17. Level. #SVEBVB

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) August 22, 2016

The Ruhr side were in …

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