U23s go top with fifth straight win

U23s go top with fifth straight winTeam newsBVB coach Daniel Rios made three changes to his starting line-up from the 4-2 win over SC Wiedenbrück. Jesper Verlaat replaced Filippo Mane at centre-back, while Mathis Albert and Samuele Inacio came into the attack for Ayman Azhil and Daniel Sumbu. Alongside the two attacking talents, Luca Reggiani and Enzo dos Santos were two more members of the first-team squad in the starting line-up. All four had been part of the squad for the midweek Champions League trip to Baku.Match reportIn front of 1,037 spectators at Stadion Rote Erde, BVB enjoyed significantly more possession in the opening stages and looked to build pressure. But they initially posed little real threat, as Bonn closed down the space in their own half. The Black & Yellows’ first notable attacking moment came from a fine piece of individual skill by Arne Wessels, who beat his marker on the right but could only find the side-netting from a tight angle (9).Dortmund continued to dictate play in difficult pitch and wind conditions, but rarely turned promising moves into clear chances and lacked a cutting edge in the final third in particular. The visitors initially offered next to nothing going forward, partly because BVB consistently dealt with their long balls and snuffed out potential counter-attacks early. It was not until midway through the first half that the team coached by Björn Mehnert, who came through the ranks at Borussia Dortmund and made 127 appearances for the Black & Yellows’ second team, among others, began to venture further forward, though without posing any real goal threat.In the 36th minute, BVB finally had something to celebrate. BSC goalkeeper Elias Bördner could only get a weak punch on Mathis Albert’s corner, whipped into the goalmouth. The ball fell to Luca Reggiani, who fired through the crowd to give the Black & Yellows a deserved 1-0 half-time lead. It was the 18-year-old’s first goal of the season in his third appearance for the U23s.At the break, BVB coach Rios introduced two fresh players in Ayman Azhil and Daniel Sumbu. Sumbu took up a position on the right flank, with Wessels switching to the left. The change almost paid off immediately, but both Mutove and Sumbu narrowly missed Wessels’ driven cross (50).Dortmund were now showing greater purpose going forward. Samuele Inacio had two chances to make it a more comfortable 2-0: first, he arrived a fraction too late to meet Malik Hodroj’s cross (64), before the 18-year-old saw his shot from the edge of the penalty area saved by Bonn’s goalkeeper (69). Ten minutes later, Bördner again impressed with a save from Hodroj.Dortmund’s leading scorer Kevin Mutove then made no mistake. After superb build-up play from Reggiani, the striker turned his marker and fired into the net from close range to make it 2-0. That sealed a fifth successive win, a run the U23s had last achieved six years ago.Now on 34 points, the Black & Yellows moved to the top of the table, at least temporarily. However, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (31 points) can leapfrog them again with a win over SG Wattenscheid on Sunday.ReactionCoach Daniel Rios: “We controlled the game from the very first minute. We had discussed how they would probably let us have the ball and look to hit us on the break. We controlled that very, very well and deserved to win. Of course, there were situations where we could have been even more dangerous going forward. But overall, we’re very happy to have won the game. Every win gives you more confidence. But we’ve worked hard for this and don’t take it for granted. Every single player knows where we can still improve.”OutlookLEAGUES) BVB host FC Gütersloh at Stadion Rote Erde. Kick-off is at 14:00.This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.