2-0 in Dresden: BVB reach the quarter finals

Ciro Immobile opened the scoring in the 50th minute in front of a sell-out crowd of 30,500 in Dresden, with the Italian benefiting from a mistake by the opposing captain to grab his first goal of the night: Hefele passed the ball directly to the 25-year-old from the left-hand side of the defence to gift the frontman his second-ever DFB Cup goal. BVB substitute Ramos then failed to double his side's lead in the 77th minute when he struck the right-hand post before Immobile found the net on the counter in the 90th minute.

Felix Ulrich reports

The scenario:

It was the second time that Borussia Dortmund and Dynamo Dresden had met in the DFB Cup. On 25 October 2011 BVB won a second round encounter against the then second-tier Dynamo Dresden 2-0 thanks to goals from Lewandowski and Götze. There were also eight Bundesliga matches between the sides between 1991 and 1995. BVB won five of those matches, but only claimed one win in Dresden. It was the Black and Yellows 24th time in the last 16 of the DFB Cup, having progressed on 13 occasions and exited ten times.

Personnel Matters:

BVB made four personnel changes ahead of their fourth match in twelve days. Three days after the 3-0 triumph in the 146th Ruhr derby, coach Jürgen Klopp had to make do without the slightly injured Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (back) and Nuri Sahin (adductor) for the DFB Cup tie away to Dynamo Dresden. The stricken duo were replaced on the night by Sebastian Kehl and Ciro Immobile. There were two further changes to the starting line-up: Mitch Langerak was also drafted in to replace Roman Weidenfeller between the sticks, while Jakub Blaszczykowski featured instead of Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The hosts made one change to the team that beat Jahn Regensburg 3-2 in the third tier: Fiel made way for Hefele.

Tactics:
Dresden might have officially lined up with two strikers, but set out to put all ten outfield players behind the ball, with Dynamo's second striker Andrich in particular covering a lot of ground. When in possession, Dresden regularly switched from their standard 4-4-2 formation into a 3-5-2 to make up the numbers in the middle. But BVB also demonstrated their tactical flexibility, transforming their 4-3-2-1 into a 4-4-2 when defending, with Kagawa pushing forward to support Immobile to disrupt Dresden's build-up play and intercept the ball. Conversely, Borussia adopted a back three each time they attacked, with Gündogan dropping in between the two centre-backs and the two full-backs Kirch and Schmelzer moving up into midfield.

The Game & Analysis:
"Whether there is an upset or not is decided by the favourite and not the underdog," Jürgen Klopp had said prior to kick-off. His charges certainly seemed to have got the message and seized the initiative right from the start, but they failed to shine in the first 45 minutes and did not create any chances of note. This was mainly down to a well-marshalled Dynamo defence, which gave nothing away.

Only three shots before the break

Despite their dominance before the break (74 per cent possession, 400:134 passes), the Black and Yellows were unable to make one of their three shots - they had 31 in the derby - count. The few "half chances" fell to Immobile (12), Mkhitaryan (34) and Hummels (38), while their hosts appeared content with the goalless draw at the break.

Two moments of controversy marred the first half: in the 21st minute Dennis Erdmann shoved Marco Reus, catching him on the left foot. The Germany international hobbled off to receive treatment on the sidelines, but was forced off through injury and replaced by Mkhitaryan.

Hefele catches Immobile with stray elbow

Controversial moment no. 2 came when Dresden's captain Michael Hefele caught Immobile with a stray elbow in the box. With blood pouring from his nose, the Italian received treatment on the touchline but played on. Referee Tobias Welz did not deem it worthy of a penalty or a yellow card.

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BVB were almost caught off-guard shortly after the break but Langerak managed to prevent Dynamo's danger man Justin Eilers from scoring (48). Borussia Dortmund - decked out all in white - then broke the deadlock in the same passage of play following a defensive error. Under no pressure, Hefele passed the ball from the left side of defence into the centre, just in front of his own box. Immobile latched onto the stray pass, composed himself and made it 1-0 from twelve metres out (50). It was the Italian's second DFB Cup goal in the current campaign. Just three minutes later Hummels slipped over, but Langerak blocked a shot from the onrushing Eilers.

Adrian Ramos strikes the post

The tie suddenly sprang into life, with Dynamo seemingly unaffected by the opening goal and continuing to compete with their visitors. BVB did seem to rest on their laurels though, appearing a little too passive despite the improved tackle rate in the second half (from 42 to 52 per cent).

In the 67th minute Jürgen Klopp made his move, bringing on Ramos for Kagawa. The Colombian's best chance fell in the 77th minute, but he struck the woodwork from a narrow angle. For the remainder of the match BVB resorted to counter-attacks and secured a 2-0 victory shortly before the final whistle when Blaszczykowski broke forward and set up Immobile for his second of the night.

Prospects:
The draw for the quarter final of the DFB Cup will be made on the ARD-Sportschau on Sunday from 18:00 CET. In contrast to the draw for the previous round when Judith Rakers drew the lots in the night of the 30th to 31st October 2014, this latest edition will take place six hours earlier. The quarter finals will be held on 7 and 8 April 2015.

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