Borussia Dortmund held off a spirited comeback from Mamelodi Sundowns to secure a 4-3 victory and move closer to the Club World Cup knockout stages. Dortmund were behind after 11 minutes to the South African champions at the TQL Stadium in Cincinnati but rallied to win their second game in Group F and move top of the standings with four points, one more than Sundowns.
Felix Nmecha, Serhou Guirassy and Jobe Bellingham scored for the Bundesliga club, who also profited from an own goal. Lucas Ribeiro had given Sundowns the lead while Iqraam Rayners and Lebo Mothiba scored in the second half as they looked to rally from 4-1 down in blazing hot conditions.
Dortmund’s coach, Niko Kovac, said: “We had a hard battle against the heat and an opponent who could handle the conditions better. This is a tournament that we want to compete in and try to win a World Cup title but the conditions are very hard for all for the teams.” Dortmund released a picture showing their substitutes watching the first half in the dressing room, to escape the heat.
Ribeiro burst through a static Dortmund defence, picking up the ball on the halfway line and gliding past two opponents to score a shock opener. But the lead lasted only five minutes before a calamitous error from Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, whose short misplaced pass to Nmecha gave him an easy tap-in for the equaliser.
Dortmund went ahead after a slick set of one-two passes between Julian Brandt and Guirassy, who powered home with his head. Bellingham, in his second appearance for Dortmund, made it 3-1 on the stroke of half-time as Williams parried Brandt’s cross straight at him, and he delayed shooting for a split second before wrong-footing the goalkeeper.
Rayners struck the woodwork for Sundowns 10 minutes into the second half but on the hour mark Daniel Svensson’s cross from the left took a wicked deflection off Sundowns’ full-back Khuliso Mudau as Dortmund extended their lead.
Two minutes later, the South African side pulled one back as Teboho Mokoena’s free-kick was floated to Rayners, who struck the foot of the post but the rebound bounced back onto his head and he did not waste the second opportunity.
Mothiba struck in the 90th minute as Sundowns stole away possession and the substitute scored from close range but they could not find an equaliser.
The Sundowns coach, Miguel Cardoso, said: “I think it was clear that we pushed the level of the game to the maximum and that we were able to pay an open game against such a strong opponent. I’m very proud of the resilience that we showed.”
Inter 2-1 Urawa Red Diamonds
Valentin Carboni scored in the second minute of added time to complete Inter’s rally to a 2-1 victory over Urawa Red Diamonds in their Group E match in Seattle. Carboni’s strike secured all three points for Inter 14 minutes after Lautaro Martínez’s brilliant volleyed equaliser from a corner.
Shusaku Nishikawa scored early for the second goal of the tournament and first from open play for the Red Diamonds, who were overwhelmingly on the back foot from there on.
Inter led their Japanese foes 26-5 in total shots and 4-3 in efforts on target, though their first shot on frame did not come until Martínez levelled the score with his 24th goal in all competitions this season.
Against the run of play, Watanabe put Red Diamonds in front in the 11th minute. Takuro Kaneko created the opportunity with a wonderful slaloming run from the right into the penalty area that split two Inter defenders, before dragging a cross back toward the penalty spot. Watanabe met it with a first-time, side-footed shot that deflected off another defender, wrongfooting Yann Sommer on its way into the bottom right corner.
Inter finally began to show more menace in the final stages, beginning with Martínez’s leveller. Nicolò Barella sent in the outswinging corner. With his back to goal, Martínez shielded a defender from the ball, then met it waist high with a volley sent over his back past goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa. It was Martínez’s second goal of the tournament after he pulled Inter level against Monterrey with a set piece goal late in the first half of a 1-1 draw on Tuesday.
Then in stoppage time, Carboni was first to the rebound of Petar Sucic’s blocked shot from the edge of the penalty area, driving a low and hard finish from 10 yards into the bottom left corner.
River Plate, whom Inter face in their last group game on Wednesday, are playing Monterrey later on Saturday in California, looking to move back to the top of the group.
