Borussia Dortmund have won the first of their three friendlies on the 2022 ASIA TOUR. Donyell Malen notched a first-half hat-trick, with Samuel Bamba (two), Julian Rijkhoff and Justin Njinmah adding to the scoresheet as BVB beat the Lion City Sailors 7-2 (3-0) in Singapore.

BVB coach Edin Terzic fielded a side containing four U23 players against the Singapore Premier League club, who won the title in 2021 and finished as runners-up in 2022. The injured Marco Reus and Mats Hummels did not make the squad but still put in an appearance for the fans and took time to sign autographs.

The almost 10,000 spectators at a sold-out Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore witnessed BVB take control from the outset and threaten the home side by creating chances on a minutely basis. A nice long-range effort from Marko Pasalic flew narrowly wide of the upright in the 10th minute, before Moritz Broschinski came close to tapping home at the back post following a move involving Malen and Jayden Braaf (11). Goalkeeper Adib Nur Hakim then made a save to deny Ole Pohlmann (12). The tempo dropped off after Felix Passlack's strike against the woodwork in the 18th minute, with further chances few and far between for the time being.

But the BVB supporters eventually had cause for celebration in the 32nd minute: Malen wanted to tee up a team-mate, but his shot took a deflection off a defender and nestled in the back of the net to make it 1-0. Only three minutes later, the attacker got the better of two defenders and doubled the lead with a high shot into the roof of the net. Pasalic had another go from distance on the 38-minute-mark, before Malen almost notched his third goal of the day a minute later, only to miss the low ball across the face of goal. Malen did however complete his hat-trick in the 45th minute when he slotted home a Braaf assist. 

Terzic made nine changes ahead of the second half, with only Felix Passlack and Pohlmann remaining on the pitch. Substitute Rikjhoff had the first good opportunity after the restart but failed to get his head to a cross in the 50th minute. A Prince Aning shot was blocked three minutes later and the loose ball fell to Rikjhoff, who could not find the net with his shot on the turn (60). Ultimately, it was Samuel Bamba who upped the lead to 4-0 in the 64th minute when he headed home a cross from Njinmah. The home side reduced the deficit to 4-1 four minutes later, with Gabriel Quak firing a low effort into the bottom right corner. Bamba, though, re-established the four-goal cushion four minutes later, tapping home the rebound after an attempt was blocked to make it 5-1.

With seven minutes remaining, Aning tested the opposition goalkeeper with a dangerous free-kick. Rijkhoff was then left with a simple tap-in following a square ball in the 84th minute. BVB had made it half a dozen, but they were not done yet. Njinmah scored with a lot shot from 16 metres out to put the Black & Yellows in a 7-1 lead with 86 minutes played. That was not the final score, however, with Faris Ramli bagging the second goal for the hosts in the first minute of stoppage time to make it 7-2.

There are two more friendly fixtures coming up during the 2022 ASIA TOUR: Johor Southern Tigers will be the opponents in Malaysia on Monday (28/11, 12:00 CET), before the tour finishes against the Vietnam national team in Hanoi on Wednesday (30/11, 13:00 CET). Both matches will also be shown live on BVB TV.

BVB first half: Meyer – Passlack, Can, Coulibaly, Schulz – Özcan, Pohlmann – Pasalic, Braaf, Malen – Broschinski
BVB second half: Lotka – Passlack (Semic, 59), Collins, Papadopoulos, Bueno – Michel, Pohlmann (Özkan, 59) – Bamba, Njinmah, Aning – Rijkhoff 

Goals: 0-1 Malen (32), 0-2 Malen (35), 0-3 Malen (45), 0-4 Bamba (64), 1-4 Quak (68), 1-5 Bamba (72), 1-6 Rijkhoff (84), 1-7 Njinmah (86), 2-7 Ramli (90+1)
Christina Reinke