Borussia Dortmund's Youngsters Impress in Premier League International Cup Opener
Borussia Dortmund’s next generation took a punch in the mouth, steadied themselves, and then dismantled Fulham’s youth side in London. A 4-1 win, built almost entirely on U23 muscle with a sprinkling of U19 talent, gave the title holders their first three points in this season’s Premier League International Cup.
Young squad, grown-up performance
Daniel Rios travelled with a squad that underlined the club’s pathway. The core came from the U23s, but he dipped into the U19s for Luke Fahrenhorst and Jan-Luca Riedl. Around them, the likes of Mathis Albert, Kaua Prates, Luca Reggiani and Justin Lerma added something crucial: experience from the professional stage.
On paper, it looked like a developmental outing. On the pitch, it quickly became a statement.
Fulham strike first, Dortmund wake up
The first warning shot came from Dortmund. Within four minutes the visitors were already threatening Fulham’s goal, sharp and direct. Then the game flipped.
From Fulham’s first real attacking moment, the ball was in the net. A corner to the near post, a precise header from striker Jose Sani, and Silas Ostrzinski was beaten in the fifth minute. One chance, one goal, and BVB suddenly had a problem to solve.
The goal jolted Rios’s side into life. They began to dictate the ball, pushing Fulham deeper and deeper, but the final pass was missing. The English hosts sat low, compact, and Dortmund’s build-up initially lacked the tempo to prise them open.
The direction of travel, though, was clear. Fulham’s forays forward grew rarer. Dortmund’s grew sharper.
Albert takes control, Dortmund flip the game
The pressure finally told on 25 minutes. Albert, increasingly influential, picked his pass perfectly from deep. Fadi Zarqelain timed his run, latched onto the long ball and finished for a fully deserved equaliser.
Three minutes later, Albert went from provider to executioner.
A sloppy Fulham pass dropped invitingly at his feet around 17 metres from goal. He didn’t hesitate. One touch to set, one clean strike, and the ball was in. In the space of 180 seconds, Dortmund had turned a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 lead.
From there, the visitors controlled the rhythm and took that advantage into the break. Fulham were chasing shadows; Dortmund were chasing a third.
Second-half surge buries Fulham
The restart brought no change in pattern. Rios’s team came out hunting, intent on killing the contest rather than nursing the scoreline.
On 52 minutes, they found the breakthrough. Takato Yamamoto swung in a corner, Jesper Verlaat attacked it and forced the ball over the line for 3-1. Simple, aggressive, effective.
Fulham reeled. Dortmund smelled blood.
Five minutes later, Justin Lerma delivered the moment of the match. A brilliant solo run, power and precision rolled into one, ended with the ball in the net and the scoreboard reading 4-1 to the Black & Yellows. It was a goal worthy of the margin they had carved out.
The only blemish: Lerma soon had to leave the pitch with an injury, cutting short an outstanding individual display.
Professional finish from the title holders
From there, the holders managed the game with a maturity that will please Rios as much as the goals. They kept creating, kept running, and never allowed Fulham a route back.
Captain Azhil went close in the 82nd minute. Degener threatened in stoppage time at 90+1, and Ngambia almost added a fifth at 90+5. Between those chances, Ostrzinski stayed alert to smother a Fulham opportunity, preserving the three-goal cushion.
The scoreline stayed at 4-1, but the performance suggested an even wider gap.
Rios: “We controlled the match over the full 90 minutes”
Afterwards, Daniel Rios left no doubt about how he viewed the display. His side had not only recovered from an early setback; they had dominated.
He highlighted the reaction to going behind, the turnaround on the scoreboard, and the flow of chances his young team created. For him, this was a deserved win built on control, conviction and a “great performance against Fulham” from a line-up heavy on youth.
What comes next
The schedule now splinters across age groups.
Borussia Dortmund’s U19s host Rot-Weiss Essen on 5 September in the DFB youth round at the Brackel training ground, an 11:00 kick-off that will test the next wave again on home soil.
The U23s, buoyed by this London outing, travel to VfB Hilden in the Regionalliga West on 29 August at 14:00, looking to carry this momentum into league play.
As for the Premier League International Cup, the holders must now wait. Their next group-stage assignment does not arrive until 15 December, when Aston Villa stand between them and another statement. If they play with this edge again, who will be able to stop them?
