Borussia Dortmund at the International Champions Cup in the USA: an overview
Borussia Dortmund’s first pre-season under Lucien Favre was one to savour, with Christian Pulisic stealing the show as BVB picked up big wins over Manchester City and Liverpool in the International Champions Cup. There was even time for a bit of baseball and NASCAR…
Favre took a strong squad to the USA, with Mario Götze and Jadon Sancho among the travelling party, but there was no question who the fans were waiting to see at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
Watch: Dortmund land in Chicago
Once they got settled, Pulisic and teammate Maximilian Philipp paid a visit to Wrigley Field, the home of Major League Baseball giants the Chicago Cubs. The venue may not hold quite as many fans as BVB’s Signal Iduna Park (41,649 vs. 81,359) but it is still a sporting temple, and the boys were delighted to be there.
Watch: Pulisic and Philipp visit the Cubs!
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After that, it was down to business, with BVB taking on English Premier League champions Man City in their first ICC match. Former Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola named a strong side, with Riyadh Mahrez making his debut following his signing from Leicester. They were no match for Dortmund, though. Pulisic pulled the strings, Götze got the goal, and BVB came away with the win.
Watch: Highlights of Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Man City!
Sancho played the second half of the City win, while Marco Reus was rested completely having joined up with the squad a little later. There was no holding them back when the team travelled to North Carolina for their match against Liverpool and former coach Jürgen Klopp, though! Two of the fastest players at the club, how would they stack up when it was man vs. machine at the Charlotte Motor Speedway?
Watch: Sancho and Reus meet NASCAR!
Once the adrenaline had settled down, pulses were raised once again when Dortmund took on Liverpool at the Bank of America Stadium. Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring for last season’s UEFA Champions League finalists, but then followed the Pulisic show. Two goals and an assist later and Dortmund ran out 3-1 winners.
Watch: Highlights of Dortmund’s 3-1 win over Liverpool.
Dortmund ended their ICC campaign with a penalty-shoot-out loss to Benfica following a 2-2 draw. They now head home undefeated in normal time since Favre joined from French outfit Nice.
Bundesliga opponents beware: with Dortmund on form and Pulisic on fire, BVB look like they mean business in 2018/19!