Dortmund 0-0 Fluminense: Uninspiring draw for Dortmund in CWC opener
Brazilian clubs had a fantastic start to the tournament, and Fluminense were on the right track from the get-go to continue that trend. Botafogo and Flamengo won their opening fixtures, while Palmeiras were the better side in the goalless draw with FC Porto.
Colombian international Jhon Arias had a blistering start as he created the first two chances of the game with solo efforts. Renê also had a long-range effort before Dortmund’s first sight at Fluminense’s goal.
Karim Adeyemi’s brilliant cutback was nearly met by Serhou Guirassy, but the Guinean striker couldn’t connect with the ball. Instead, he was clattered into the 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio. Dortmund improved as the half went on, with Adeyemi and Julian Brandt at the center stage of some promising moves.
However, Fluminense’s long-range efforts were in full force with Hércules, Nonato and Arias trying their luck from distance. Considering the pressure they were under from the start, which was visible from the moment Ramy Bensebaini saw a yellow card in the second minute, Niko Kovač’s side were lucky to go to the half-time break goalless.
The start of the second-half was a bit slower, but Flu remained the likeliest to open the scoring. There was an early concern for Dortmund when Gregor Kobel felt discomfort. However, the Swiss goalkeeper was fit enough to continue.
Before Kovač made his anticipated move to bring debutant Jobe Bellingham and Felix Nmecha, the Brazilian outfit squandered another golden opportunity when Agustín Canobbio failed to test Kobel from another promising move by Renato Gaúcho’s side.
It took Dortmund nearly 20 minutes to have their first chance of the second-half when Marcel Sabitzer’s attempt was caught by the record-breaking goalkeeper Fabio. However, the busiest goalkeeper was Kobel as he made excellent double stops to deny Everaldo and Nonato.
Dortmund eased Flu's pressure in the final stage of the game, but they also struggled to create goal-scoring opportunities at the other end until injury-time. In the group's other game, Mamelodi Sundowns will play Ulsan HD from South Korea later tonight. Dortmund’s second game of the group will be against the South African giants on Saturday.
