Dortmund played a 0-0 draw against Fluminense in their Club World Cup opener, but it could have gone worse for them. The Germans were lucky.

Dortmund managed to play a 0-0 draw against Fluminense by sheer luck. It was a poor sight for Dortmund fans; their team was shocked and torn apart by Fluminense. How they managed to secure a point from the game was baffling.

From the first half, Fluminense showed that they weren’t going to be regarded as underdogs. It was German giant versus Brazilian giant, and Fluminense matched Dortmund stride for stride. In the first half, Dortmund managed to hang on; they weren’t at their best, but they tried to rattle Fluminense. 

Fluminense, on the other hand, didn’t care about the European pedigree of their opponents. They showed why they were one of the best teams in Brazil. Arias, who won the man of the match award, terrorized the Dortmund defense from start to finish. He had his team’s best chance of the game but somehow failed to find the back of the net. 

In the second half, there was a huge gap in the intensity at which both teams were playing.

Fluminense threw everything at Dortmund’s defense, but they failed to get the ball over the line. Kobel was brilliant in goal for Borussia Dortmund. The scoreline could’ve been different if not for him. He frustrated the Fluminense attack and earned his team a lucky point. 

Fluminense were visibly frustrated as they would’ve caused an upset and earned 3 points, which they rightly deserve for the performance they put in today, but they will have to make do with one point. For Kovac and Dortmund, there is work to do.

For a team that won 9 of their last 10 games in the Bundesliga this season in a last-gasp pursuit of Champions League football, this was an appalling performance. They need to sit up before the game against Mamelodi Sundowns because they may not get lucky again.