Borussia Dortmund got their training camp off to a positive start by beating Udinese 4-1, thanks to goals from Hazard, Götze, Weigl and Brandt in a friendly fixture that the referee brought to a premature end on the 83-minute mark due to adverse weather conditions.

The BVB contingent headed straight for the Cashpoint Arena after landing at Altenrhein Airport on Saturday. Their opponents at the ground of Austrian side Altach were Serie A outfit Udinese, who finished last season in the Italian top flight in 12th place with 43 points.

The match was only five minutes old when Borussia Dortmund attacked for the first time and produced some excellent link-up play: Mario Götze initiated the move and passed to Julian Brandt, who picked out Hazard in the centre. The Belgian midfielder then returned the ball to Götze, whose shot was just about saved by Udinese shot-stopper Musso Juan Augustin. But the goalie was beaten less than a minute later when the Black & Yellows launched an attack down the left flank. An Udinese defender failed to deal with the incoming cross and Hazard was in the right place at the right time to pounce on the loose ball, firing low into the corner to make it 1-0.

With 18 minutes on the clock, Hakimi was brought down as he burst into the box and the referee awarded a penalty to the Black & Yellows. Götze, who had been given the captain's armband, stepped up to take it and doubled the lead from the spot. Julian Weigl added another only 10 minutes later, firing a low shot into the bottom corner from several metres out. A fourth goal came on the stroke of half-time as Brandt capitalised on another major error in the Udinese defence, racing clean through and rounding custodian Augustin before slotting home to put his side four goals to the good.

The rainy and stormy weather in Altach made the second half less of a spectacle. The Italians did create more opportunities to score but initially failed to make them count. With the conditions becoming increasingly difficult and the ball barely moving due to the volume of water it had soaked up, Marco Reus had an opportunity to add a fifth goal after being brilliantly set up by Jacob Bruun Larsen. Unfortunately, however, his effort sailed narrowly wide of the upright. Udinese went straight down the other end and scored a consolation goal from a direct free kick to make it 4-1 on the 76-minute mark. With just minutes remaining of normal time, the referee decided to end the match prematurely due to the adverse weather conditions.

BVB first half: Bürki – Hakimi, Balerdi, Toprak, Guerreiro – Weigl, Delaney – Sancho, Götze (C), Brandt – Hazard (Reyna, 12)

BVB second half: Bürki – Piszczek, Akanji, Hummels, Schulz – Witsel, Dahoud – Wolf, Reus, Bruun Larsen – Alcacer

BVB-TV: Highlights of the Match against Udinese Calcio