Marco Reus and Paco Alcacer were both on target as 2017 DFB Cup winners Borussia Dortmund booked their place in the second round of the competition with a 2-0 win away to Uerdingen on Friday evening.
Lucien Favre’s men dominated from the outset against their third-tier opponents, with summer signings Thorgan Hazard and Nico Schulz making their competitive debuts for the club, while returnee Mats Hummels also began in defence. Hummels and Alcacer both had early chances saved by goalkeeper Lukas Königshofer as Dortmund looked to make their superiority count, and Hazard was a constant menace on the right wing, regularly showing flashes of his one-on-one brilliance. The longer the game stayed goalless, however, the more the hosts grew in confidence and they should have taken the lead in the 38th minute when Osayamen Osawe robbed Hummels of possession and bore down on Marwin Hitz’s goal, but he dragged his shot wide of the far post.
If that was a let-off for Dortmund, Reus showed no such mercy at the start of the second half. Manuel Akanji’s inviting pass over the top of the defence wasn’t properly cut out and the ball fell kindly to the BVB captain, who lashed in the opener from close range. It was always going to be an uphill struggle from then on for Uerdingen, who gamely continued to battle and tried to get forward, but the match was effectively killed off in the 70th minute when Alcacer whipped in a stunning free-kick from 25 yards out. The Spaniard almost doubled his tally shortly afterwards but fired a volley straight at Königshofer, and further opportunities for Hummels and Lukasz Piszczek also went unrewarded. It mattered little in the end, though, as Dortmund comfortably saw the game out to ensure they will be in action in the second round at the end of October.
