Borussia Dortmund held off a spirited comeback from South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns to secure a 4-3 victory on Saturday and move closer to the Club World Cup knockout stages.
Dortmund were behind after 11 minutes at the TQL Stadium but rallied to win their second game in Group F and move top of the standings with four points, one more than Sundowns.
Felix Nmecha, Serhou Guirassy and Jobe Bellingham scored for the Bundesliga club who also profited from an own goal.
Lucas Ribeiro had given Sundowns the lead while Iqraam Rayners and Lebo Mothiba scored in the second half as they looked to rally from 4-1 down in a competitive game played in blazing hot conditions with a mid-day kickoff.
Ribeiro burst through a static Dortmund defence, picking up the ball on the halfway line and gliding past two opponents to score a shock opener.
But the lead last only five minutes before a calamitous error from Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who played a short pass to Nmecha who had an easy tap-in for the equaliser.
“We weren’t surprised by Sundowns, we expected a strong start from them. but we worked to impose ourselves on the game,” Nmecha said.
Dortmund went ahead after a slick set of one-two passes between Julian Brandt and Guirassy who powered home with his head.
Bellingham, in his second appearance for Dortmund, made it 3-1 on the stroke of halftime as Williams parried Brandt’s cross straight at him, and he delayed shooting for a split second before wrong-footing the goalkeeper.
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Rayners struck the woodwork for Sundowns 10 minutes into the second half but on the hour mark Daniel Svensson’s cross from the left took a wicked deflection off Sundowns’ fullback Khuliso Mudau as Dortmund extended their lead.
Two minutes later, the South African side pulled one back as Teboho Mokoena’s free kick was floated to Rayners, who struck the foot of the post but the rebound bounced back onto his head and he did not waste the second opportunity.
Mothiba struck in the 90th minute as Sundowns stole away possession and the substitute scored from close range but they could not find an equaliser.
“We take away a feeling of disappointment but pride also because we were competitive. I think we earned a lot of respect,” Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso said.
Fluminense of Brazil, who drew 0-0 with Dortmund in their opening game, and Ulsan HD of South Korea, who lost 1-0 to Sundowns, meet later on Saturday in New Jersey.
Reuters
