Groß records two assists as Dortmund get Sahin Era off to winning start

Before a massive crowd of 50,971 spectators at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Borussia Dortmund ensured that the new head-coaching regime of Nuri Sahin got off to a positive start on Saturday evening. A match not-at-all befitting of a first-round DFB-Pokal tie took place in HSV's home stadium due to the fact that fourth-tier-side 1. FC Phönix Lübeck's home ground was far too small to accommodate a cup fixture. Tens of thousands of BVB supporters made the trip north to cheer their team on. The black-and-yellows were gracious enough to accord their supporters a 4-1 win that, despite the scoreline, did feature some nervy moments. 

New head-coach Sahin's first competitive XI featured two new summer signings. Interestingly enough, Sahin lined die Schwarzgelben up in a 3-4-3. Former VfB Stuttgart captain Waldemar Anton started slanted right alongside Niklas Süle center and Nico Schlotterbeck left. Another new offseason addition, Pascal Groß, worked together in midfield alongside skipper Emré Can. Julian Ryerson pushed forward to operate as a wingback opposite Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. Julian Brandt - given the coveted #10 tricot following Marco Reus' departure worked on the left-hand-side of attack. Marcel Sabitzer took the right slant behind lead-striker Karim Adeyemi. 

It didn't take long for Groß and Anton to justify his summer signings. The former Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder and German national team late-bloomer Groß serviced the Anton perfectly off a corner kick in the 3rd. Everyone in blue had lost sight of Anton, rendering the 1-0 all too easy. Dortmund proceeded to dominate the game. Fluid play from the novel constellation produced several more scoring chances until the BVB captain officially doubled the advantage from the spot in the 31st. Adeyemi drew the contact in the box at the half-hour mark on a penalty decision that was harsh, yet still correct. 

Brandt began to look especially lively after the second goal. After coming close to notching the third tally twice, the 28-year-old netted a well-deserved 3-0 in first-half stoppage time. Groß registered his second assist of the night with a lovely high ball over the Lübeck ranks. Brandt took down the 45+1 launch impressively and also finished elegantly. With a three-goal advantage at the half, Sahin opted to bring on back-up keeper Alexander Meyer for Gregor Kobel for the second 45. The BVB trainer shifted his tactics as well, re-formatting the team into a 4-2-3-1.

An unsettled Dortmund ended up conceding a goal ten minutes after the restart. A careless ball loss from Brandt left the high pressing Groß chasing Lübeck defender Obinna Iloka. A pull-back goal would have nevertheless not resulted had the American thundered home an incredible finish from the edge of the penalty area into the top left corner. Sahin reacted to the 1-3 by pulling the trigger on a triple substitution and returning the squad to a 3-4-3. Before Dortmund could get set, however, Lübeck would nearly score again. 

Former Hamburger SV academy man Emanuel Adou rattled the ball against the goal-frame at the hour-mark. Two minutes later, the BVB subs would come through. A strong run from newly acquired right-back Yan Couto concluded with the Man City loanee feeding Julien Duranville in the 62nd. Duranville slipped the ball past Lübeck keeper Carl Leonard for his first goal for the Dortmund seniors and an insurmountable 4-1 advantage.

Lübeck nonetheless still challenged. Iloka was extremely unlucky not to score again when he headed a corner off the post in the 81st. There was another scary moment three minutes later when Schlotterbeck inadvertently headed the ball off his own crossbar. There was some cheekiness near the end from the BVB XI as Sahin's crew went in search of a fifth goal, but the 4-1 scoreline ended up holding.