Borussia Dortmund thrashed Manchester United 4-1 in China in their International Champions Cup 2016 fixture on Friday. While Gonzalo Castro scored a double, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ousame Dembele scored one goal each for the German side. Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the only goal for United.
Dortmund had a rather comfortable outing against Manchester United in the first half as they didn't just allow Jose Mourinho's side time on the ball as well as get a proper hold on the game and eke out chances. The likes of Memphis Depay, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata did make a lot of runs in the half but they never turned fruitful.
The passing accuracy from the German side -- be it the short passes or the long passes -- remained the key and we got yet another instance of why the Ruhr giants are revered for their impressive playing style.
Aubameyang was predicted to be a major threat for United and that is exactly how it turned out. The first goal of the game remained a rather scrappy one as a series of weak clearances from United reserve goalkeeper Sam Johnstone gave a major opportunity to Gonzalo Castro to draw first blood for his team in the 19th minute of the match. New Dortmund signing Dembele remained the assist.
United's Lingard, meanwhile, launched a counter attack soon after the goal but his final shot headed straight into the hands of experienced Dortmund custodian Roman Weidenfeller.
A handball from Antonio Valencia inside the United box saw the Ruhr giants get yet another advantage as they were awarded the penalty and soon after, Aubameyang converted it in a rather subtle manner with the ball blasting the middle of the net. Johnstone, 23, didn't have a really good half, but he did well as he parried one effort from Aubameyang just minutes before half time.
Mourinho was seen taking a lot of notes during the play and made a lot of substitutions in the start of the second half and it did turn out well for some time but not throughout the match.
Sergio Romero was brought in as the goalkeeper at the second half but even the Argentine goalkeeper couldn't prevent the next two goals that popped in from the German side. Dembele got into the scoresheet this time around in the 57th minute of the match as his sublime individual trick saw him get past the United defenders with east.
Mkhitaryan scored for United soon after but that didn't help much either.
Castro decorated the icing on the cake with a stunner in the 86th minute and that was the be-all and end-all of the match.
