Subs shine in U23's 3-1 win at Bergisch Gladbach Personnel Compared to the 1-1 draw against 1. FC Köln, BVB coach Daniel Rios made two changes to his starting XI. Silas Ostrzinski started in goal for the first time this season. The U23’s first-choice keeper, who had recently been part of the senior team’s training group, replaced Aaron Held between the posts. In addition, Nanitonda Quiala came into central defense alongside captain Jesper Verlaat in place of Elias Benkara. The two U19 players Luke Fahrenhorst and Fadi Zarqelain were in the starting XI for the third match in a row.
Match summary The U23 took the initiative from the start, enjoyed significantly more possession, and never allowed SV Bergisch Gladbach, who had begun the season strongly with four points from two matches, to get into the game at all. A lot of BVB’s play went down the left through the lively Arne Wessels, but his crosses initially found no takers. Because Dortmund otherwise lacked ideas and precision going forward, little happened in front of the promoted side’s goal. The hosts, meanwhile, were largely defensive in the early stages at the BELKAW Arena and mostly stayed in their own half. But after 23 minutes, Bergisch Gladbach suddenly had reason to celebrate: after Fabian Fricke defended aggressively on the front foot and won his duel against Fadi Zarqelain, he rifled the ball beautifully into the top corner from just under 20 meters out on the left. After the opening goal, the match picked up a bit, with the promoted side in particular growing bolder while the Rios team struggled in possession going forward. In the 35th minute, Ostrzinski kept BVB from conceding a second with a strong reflex save. After a misplaced pass from Jesper Verlaat, the ball eventually fell to Finn Stromberg, who was denied one-on-one by the outstanding BVB keeper. Shortly before halftime, even Ostrzinski would have been powerless, but Tristan Arndt’s shot crashed against the right post.
BVB coach Daniel Rios responded at halftime with a triple attacking substitution: Kevin Mutove, Daniel Sumbu, and Diego Ngambi came on for Bennedikt Wüstenhagen, Zarqelain, and Wessels. Three changes that would prove spot on, because just two minutes after coming on, Sumbu made it 1-1 with a fine solo effort. And it got even better for Dortmund, who were visibly lifted by the equalizer. From the edge of the box, Jesper Verlaat placed his shot into the bottom-right corner to make it 2-1 (52’). It was the captain’s first competitive goal in a BVB shirt. Ngambi, another substitute, also played a key role in the goal with the assist. Within a few minutes, BVB had turned the game around. Just how well those substitutions had worked became clear only three minutes later. Mutove could only be stopped in the box by a foul and then converted the resulting penalty himself for 3-1. BVB remained on top afterward and had the hosts largely under control. Bergisch Gladbach did create the occasional dangerous moment, but either lacked the necessary ruthlessness in front of goal or were denied by the excellent Ostrzinski. At the other end, the U23 missed the chance to wrap things up in the 75th minute. First, Sumbu was denied by the home goalkeeper after a lovely pass from Mutove, then Ngambi’s follow-up struck a defender’s leg. In the end, Dortmund saw out the lead confidently and celebrated their first win of the season.
Reaction Coach Daniel Rios: “We controlled the game. But during the week we talked about the fact that it’s not enough for us just to have the ball and control, we also want to play with purpose going forward. That we have to be willing to cover ground in order to get into better positions. Then it was the same again: we had control and plenty of opportunities, but in the first half I was missing that absolute determination to want to score goals. Because the others had also done well during the week, it was the right decision to make changes after going 1-0 down.” Outlook Because Westfalia Rhynern will face Dynamo Dresden in the first round of the DFB-Pokal next weekend, the U23 have a bye. The Black & Yellows return to action on Saturday, 29 August, with an away game at promoted side VfB Hilden (live on LEAGUES). Kickoff is at 2 p.m. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.