Borussia Dortmund defeated Sparta Rotterdam 2-1 (0-0) thanks to goals from Reus and Pherai. It was the Black & Yellows' last friendly match before the return of competitive action against MSV Duisburg next week. 

After a seven-month spell on the sidelines, club captain Marco Reus once again led the Black & Yellows out onto the pitch. The focus was also on Mahmoud Dahoud, who made his own return from injury, as well as Reinier, who played his first ever game for BVB. Emre Can and Julian Brandt made surprise appearances on the teamsheet - both players were in action for Germany in the Nations League match against Switzerland on Sunday and made the trip back from Basel that very same evening. 12 other players remained out on international duty.  

Dortmund pressed hard early on and pushed the away side deep into their own half. Nonetheless, the first sight of goal came through a set-piece: in the 10th minute, Reus stepped up to take a free-kick from just outside the box. His effort was on target, but Rotterdam goalkeeper van Leer was able to get a strong hand to it to send it over the bar. Almost immediately afterwards, a Hummels header at the near-post flew just wide of the target. Then, in the 15th minute, a curling effort from Wolf forced van Leer to make a good save. 

The Black & Yellows saw plenty of the ball, while Sparta were happy to sit back and absorb the pressure. The visitors' first shot on goal came in the 20th minute after a counter-attack, but Hitz had no problem making the save. One minute later, BVB once again threatened the opposition goal: Wolf teed up Reus with a back-heel, but the club captain was unable to direct his effort on target. Not long afterwards, Brandt tried his luck with a volley. Then, in the 25th minute, some desperate defending was required to deny a Reinier header crossing the line. Reyna then came close with a lobbed effort shortly after the half-hour mark. Borussia continued to apply pressure and were unquestionably the dominant side. All that was missing was the all-important finishing touch to make their superiority count. Just before half-time, some tidy combination play by Reinier and Wolf presented Can with a sight of his goal, but his attempted chip flew well over the bar.

The match continued in much the same vein after the interval: BVB pushed forward, Sparta sat deep. Several Black & Yellows tried their luck from long range to try and break the deadlock: first Can in the 52nd minute, then Brandt and Dahoud in the 56th and 57th respectively. On the hour mark, Reus and Brandt played a one-two to send the latter through on goal, but his shot cannoned back off the upright. 

However, BVB didn't need to wait much longer to make their superiority count. In the 63rd minute, Reus carried the ball forward into the box, dribbled past several defenders and applied a cool finish to give Dortmund a deserved 1-0 lead. Three minutes later, substitute Pherai fired home from close-range after a cross from Wolf to make it 2-0. But Sparta didn't let their heads drop: Hitz was forced to make a good save in the 77th minute, but four minutes later, he was powerless to prevent Emegha hitting the back of the net to finish off a strong passing move and pull the score back to 2-1.

BVB: Hitz – Piszczek (46, Hippe), Hummels, Can – Passlack, Reyna (83, Collins), Dahoud (87 Hober), Brandt (64 Pherai), Wolf – Reinier (46, Duman), Reus (70 Gürpüz)
Goals: 1-0 Reus (63), 2-0 Pherai (66), 2-1 Emegha (81)
Christina Reinke