Notre Dame Stadium in Indiana played host to its first-ever soccer match, as Champions League winners Liverpool faced Borussia Dortmund for a preseason match in the blistering heat of America’s midwest region. With both teams famed for their fans though, it was a half full stadium that took in the encounter.
Hot and humid, it was never going to be a match that was played with the intensity of a Champions League encounter, but it was a good opportunity to continue their preseason preparations, and with both sides unbeaten in their preseason campaigns ahead of kick off, it represented more of a test for each team. With one of the most noteworthy sporting arenas in the United States as the stage, native fans were relishing the opportunity to see their heroes in the flesh, however the game played out in front of a 40,361 crowd, half of Notre Dame’s nearly 81,000-seat capacity.
With the match seeing the German and English league runners up facing off, it felt mildly jarring to hear the US national anthem playing before hand, but that was followed by a rousing chorus of You’ll Never Walk Alone, sung with a noticeable American twang.
The game itself ebbed and flowed, and with the sun setting, casting shadow over the pitch apart from the upper tier of the stand, Dortmund took the lead through Paco Alcacer after Liverpool failed to clear their lines. The Reds were on level terms later in the half following a fine finish from Harry Wilson, who will be looking to impress in preseason following his successful loan at Derby in the last campaign.
Dortmund were ahead again in the second half and a third soon followed before Liverpool changed all outfield players on the hour mark. With the likes of Virgil Van Dijk back on to the pitch, Liverpool did not concede again, and a mexican wave signalled a dip in the intensity of the game, understandable considering the heat. Liverpool did earn a penalty late on, which Rhian Brewster dispatched emphatically.
For the second season running Dortmund beat Liverpool in a preseason friendly in the US, but in a match of diluted intensity, it was a solid workout for both teams and nothing more, as they each look to find their rhythm ahead of the season’s kick off.
Photography by Nick Goodwin for SoccerBible.
