U19s succumb to 4-1 defeat in Karlsruhe | OneFootball

"We were completely outclassed and had no chance," reflected coach Mike Tullberg after what was a one-sided match. The physically stronger group leaders from Karlsruhe, who have qualified for the DFB-Pokal final and are among the favourites to win the German Championship, showed their much younger Dortmund counterparts their limits. "The ball was in the air 80% of the time. And Karlsruhe won almost every aerial duel," explained Tullberg. They also won the majority of the challenges.

BVB were unable to compensate for their missing players. With Tullberg deprived of the likes of Tyler Meiser, Luca Reggiani, Jonas Feddersen and Diego Ngambia, the U19 team travelled to Karlsruhe with a contingent of only 15 outfield players – including Diego Branco from the U17s. That said, Borussia did have chances to take the lead in the opening stages through Ousmane Diallo and Samuele Inacio.

But KSC then seized the initiative and completely forced their opponents onto the back foot. "We knew what we were up against, but we had neither the physicality nor the quality to successfully defend against Karlsruhe's mature brand of football," said Mike Tullberg. Only centre-backs Nico Adamczyk and Elias Benkara were a match for the opposition.

Final home game against Mainz 05

The hosts showed their dominance by scoring two quickfire goals before the break through Niklas Behr, before quickly upping their lead to 3-0 in the 47th minute (Jassin Manai). Nick Cherny converted a penalty to make it 3-1 (60th minute), only for Marwin Mutz to restore the lead just 120 seconds later.

BVB will need to beat FSV Mainz 05 in their penultimate group game at Stadion Rote Erde on Sunday (18:00 CEST) to keep their chances of finishing second in the table alive.