Dembélé & Aubameyang on target as Borussia win 2-1 to claim DFB Cup!

Dennis-Julian Gottschlich reporting from Berlin

The 74,322 spectators at a sold-out Olympiastadion in Berlin made for an electric atmosphere, with both sets of fans in full voice. However, Frankfurt made a rather nervous start to the match and BVB capitalised by taking a deserved lead through Dembélé with just eight minutes on the clock. But Eintracht eventually grew into the game around the 20-minute mark and restored parity through Rebic after 29 minutes. The Black & Yellows went up several gears after the restart but initially struggled to break down a compact Frankfurt rearguard. Fabián cleared an Aubameyang scissor-kick off the line in the 64th minute, before Hradecky sent Pulisic sprawling inside the penalty area three minutes later, leaving referee Aytekin no choice but to point to the spot. Aubameyang comfortably dispatched the ensuing penalty to swing the game in BVB's favour and, despite some late pressure from Frankfurt, the Black and Yellows held on to secure the win – and the trophy.

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The scenario:
Borussia Dortmund were in a major final for the sixth successive season, although only one of the previous five – the 2012 DFB Cup final against Bayern – had ended in victory. Thomas Tuchel felt it was time to change that. "We're in Berlin to win it," the coach declared. "Winning a title would be a special way to end this season and it's something we want to achieve." Tuchel described Frankfurt as a tough-tackling and very physical side – nothing wrong with that! – who make it very difficult for you to create chances. "We want to determine the tempo, we want to be the dominant team and we will need to be effective if we want to achieve our objective," he concluded.

Personnel matters:
The Black and Yellows were without Weigl (ankle operation) and Götze (metabolic disorder) for the final. Thomas Tuchel made two changes to the team that beat Bremen on the final day of the Bundesliga season last weekend, with Schmelzer and Piszczek starting in place of Durm (bench) and Sahin (not in the squad). Eintracht Frankfurt, meanwhile, were without Hasebe (knee operation), Mascarell (Achilles tendon), Varela (infected wound), Stendera (outer meniscus), Wolf (shoulder) and Tarashaj (knee problems).

Tactics:
Thomas Tuchel opted for an interesting tactical setup in which the three-man rearguard of Schmelzer, Sokratis and Bartra was consistently expanded into a five-man defence by Guerreiro and Piszczek in the wing-back positions. Ginter lined up between them in the central defensive midfield role, while Kagawa and Dembélé occupied the offensive midfield berths. Piszczek in particular covered a lot of ground when the Black & Yellows had the ball, often overlapping Dembélé and getting to the byline to fizz dangerous crosses into the penalty area, where Aubameyang was lurking. The Gabon international spearheaded the attack alongside Reus. Both the latter and Schmelzer had to come off at the interval, so BVB switched to a 5-2-3 with Castro and Kagawa in midfield. Eintracht opted for a 3-4-3 system when they had the ball, spearheaded by a flat front three of Fabián, Seferovic and Rebic. When the Eagles didn't have possession, they switched to a 4-4-2 system.

The match & analysis:
Borussia Dortmund made a strong start to their ninth-ever DFB Cup final, displaying great flexibility and agility going forward and repeatedly working their way into shooting positions thanks to outstanding work by the trio of Dembélé, Reus and Piszczek. So it was no surprise when the triumvirate linked up to fire the Black & Yellows into a deserved lead in the eighth minute of the match. The move started with a beautiful crossfield pass from Reus to Piszczek, who played the ball perfectly into the path of Dembélé. The Frenchman's dragback in the penalty area carried him easily past Vallejo before he fired a shot into the top corner from the edge of the six-yard box. 

The opener served as a wake-up call for Frankfurt, who gradually overcame their nerves and grew into the game as time passed. Bartra and Kagawa made last-ditch tackles in the ninth and 16th minutes respectively to take the ball off the toes of Severovic in the BVB box, while Reus was denied by Hradecky following the first corner of the match shortly afterwards. By the time Chandler headed Frankfurt's first real opportunity goalbound in the 20th minute, the Eagles were very much in the game. Two minutes later Fabián failed to equalise when he missed Chandler's cross by inches, but on the 29-minute mark Gacinovic played Rebic in behind the defence and the Croat curled his effort around Bürki to level the scores.

Aubameyang slots home with ease

The remainder of the first period was an intense affair, with Eintracht tasting blood and winning the midfield battles time and time again with some tough tackling. That intensity on the pitch was replicated in the stands, where both sets of fans delivered vocal support worthy of the big occasion. The best chance before the break came in the 39th minute, when Frankfurt's Seferovic played a one-two with Rebic before firing a low effort from 15 metres out. The Black & Yellows could count themselves lucky to see the ball rebound off the upright.

BVB were dealt a severe blow at the interval when Reus had to come off with an injury and was replaced by Pulisic. He was joined in the stands by Schmelzer, who also came off and was replaced by Castro. Nonetheless, Borussia made the brighter start to the half, much as they had done in the first period. Dembélé fired over from a narrow angle in the 47th minute before, three minutes later, Kagawa was played in by Ginter. The Japan international steered the ball past shot-stopper Hradecky and into the middle, but it was just too quick for Guerreiro and Abraham and Vallejo were able to scramble the ball away.

Frankfurt were now on the back foot and only occasionally ventured forward on the counter. The Black & Yellows, meanwhile, toiled away as they looked for ways to break down Eintracht's resolute defensive rearguard. They eventually succeeded in the 64th minute when Dembélé left two opponents trailing in his wake by the byline and chipped the ball across the box to Aubameyang, whose spectacular scissor kick was diverted onto the post by Fabián on the goal-line. However, much to the disappointment of the BVB faithful, the ball was subsequently cleared. Three minutes later the ball was lofted into the box to Pulisic, who was brought down by Hradecky as he charged out of his goal. It was a clear penalty and referee Deniz Aytekin evidently agreed, pointing straight to the spot. Aubameyang converted the ensuing penalty, chipping it down the middle to put BVB 2-1 up.

Eintracht attempted to mount a fightback in the closing stages, with Bürki denying both Seferovic and Fabián in the 76th minute before substitute Meier dragged a shot narrowly wide of the post from 16 metres three mintues later. Meanwhile, at the other end, Aubameyang was denied by the woodwork in the 85th minute. There was one more hearts-in-mouths moment for BVB shortly before the final whistle when Sokratis and Bürki managed to clear a cross in the penalty area but almost steered the ball into their own net in the process. Fortunately, however, BVB's narrow lead remained intact!

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Prospects:
With the DFB Cup final won, the 2016/17 season is over for Borussia Dortmund. The club will parade the Cup through the city on Sunday afternoon, before they begin their well-deserved summer break. Training for the 2017/18 campaign will begin at the end of July.

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