Borussia Dortmund edged on penalties by Benfica in Pittsburgh
Borussia Dortmund concluded their summer tour of the USA with a narrow defeat to Benfica in the International Champions Cup in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, losing 4-3 on penalties after the game finished 2-2.
Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Benfica
(Benfica win 4-3 on penalties)
Goals: 1-0 Philipp (20'), 2-0 Philipp (22'), 2-1 Almeida (51'), 2-2 Semedo (69')
Lucien Favre's side were put under pressure early on, as Benfica started strongly, pressing Dortmund intensely in their own half and linking up well in midfield. However, aside from almost capitalising on a miskicked clearance from Marwin Hitz, they struggled to create any chances of note. The Portuguese side would come to regret that, as Maximilian Philipp netted a quickfire brace to hand momentum to BVB and give them a relatively comfortable lead at the interval.
However, Rui Vitoria's troops rallied after the break and soon pulled a goal back when Andre Almedia latched onto Pizzi's through-ball and placed an unstoppable shot into the far corner past Hitz. Wholesale substitutions midway through the second half disrupted Dortmund's rhythm somewhat, and Benfica took full advantage when Alfa Semedo stroked home at the second attempt after his initial shot had been blocked. That forced the game to go to penalties, with Benfica edging the shootout after Sergio Gomez and Alexander Isak missed from the spot.
Watch: Dortmund stars Pulisic and Philipp visit the Chicago Cubs!
Match stats
- Pulisic had a direct hand in four of Dortmund’s six goals at this year’s ICC, scoring twice and creating two more. He also made the winning goal in their friendly against Austria Vienna.The 19-year-old American star already boasts a number of records, including being the youngest foreign-born goalscorer in Bundesliga history and the youngest player to have tallied for the USA in a World Cup qualifier.Switzerland goalkeeper Marwin Hitz – signed this summer from Augsburg – is the only Dortmund squad member to to play in all 180 minutes of BVB’s ICC campaign.Dortmund and Benfica have met four times in competitive competition. Die Schwarzgelben knocked the Portuguese giants out of the European Cup with a 6-2 aggregate win back in 1963, repeating the trick with a 4-1 aggregate triumph in the UEFA Champions League last 16 in 2017.Benfica’s Haris Seferovic is a familiar face for Bundesliga fans. The Switzerland striker scored 16 times in three seasons with Eintracht Frankfurt, with two of those goals coming against Dortmund.
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Line-ups
Dortmund: Hitz - Toljan (Hakimi 61'), Toprak (Pieper 63'), Diallo (Dieckmann 61'), Schmelzer (Zagadou 46') - Sahin (Burnic 63'), Dahoud (Gomez 63') - Pulisic (Wolf 46'), Götze (Rode 63'), Larsen (Sancho 63') - Philipp (Isak 63')
Unused subs: Oelschlägel, Bockhorn, Piszczek, Reus, Sechelmann
Absentees: Weigl (groin), Akanji, Bürki, Delaney, Guerreiro, Kagawa (on holiday)
Coach: Lucien Favre
Benfica: Svilar - Almeida (Ebuehi 84'), Jardel (Lema 84'), Ruben Dias (Conti 66'), Grimaldo (Riberio 66') - Fejsa (Semedo 66'), Gedson (Jonas 66'), Pizzi (Samaris 66') - Zivkovic (Salvio 46'), Rafa (Cervi 46'), Castillo (Ferreyra 46')
Unused subs: Odysseas
Absentees: Krovinovic (cruciate ligament)
Coach: Rui Vitoria
As it happened