Having completed their medical tests on Saturday and Sunday, the players − watched on by a crowd of around 500 fans on a sunny but slightly overcast morning − trained under new boss Lucien Favre for the first time. The first session under the Swiss tactician lasted over 90 minutes, with the ball the focal point for the most part.

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With the 20-minute "warm-up" over, BVB were immediately working with the ball. The first team had actually relocated to the youth stadium in Brackel so the fans had plenty of space and a good view from the stands. And they clearly liked what they saw: applause broke out on several occasions, including when Sergio Gómez scored the "first goal" of the season in the training match at the end. Encouragingly, Sebastian Rode managed to complete the whole session.

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The session was followed by autographs and photos for the fans – with new signings Marwin Hitz, Eric Oelschlägel, Abdou Diallo and Marius Wolf getting involved for the first time. U23 players Amos Pieper and Dominik Wanner are training with the first team this week. (br/jpk)