Borussia Dortmund: How Jürgen Klopp's Side Beat Kiel in German Cup

Yesterday, I looked at factors which could have potentially hindered Borussia Dortmund against Holstein Kiel.

BVB's 4-0 victory would seem to suggest that Kiel were, in fact, not much of an obstacle at all.

This could be slightly misleading however, as all the goals were scored in the first 20 and the last 10 minutes of the game, with Kiel going an hour without conceding.

The first, courtesy of Robert Lewandowski, came on 11 minutes followed by another from Shinji Kagawa seven minutes later.

At that point it looked like a rout was sure to follow.

However, the home side then managed to get to the 80th minute with the score remaining at 2-0.

Kiel made some good plays, but lacked the touch that Dortmund showed on the ball, and their finishing was woeful. They relied heavily on getting men behind the ball and trying to hit Dortmund on the counter attack.

Or failing that, just punting it clear.

The gulf in class was evident throughout the match, with Dortmund being faster, stronger and more skillful than their fourth-tier opponents.

In freezing conditions, the pitch also had a great deal to do with how the game was played. The players didn't even wear studded boots; the grass being just too solid.

This caused a lot of slipping and some nasty looking landings. While Dortmund were dominant throughout, it appeared they took their foot of the gas at times, looking to avoid any serious injuries.

In better conditions, Kiel may have suffered a heavier defeat than they actually did.

When the third goal came, it was from the resurgent Lucas Barrios, with his second goal in as many games.

The fourth was the result of a very rare free kick, given for a back-pass picked up by Kiel goalkeeper, Morten Jensen.

The Kiel players lined up along the goal line, but Ivan Perisic managed to guide the ball through a gap from very short range where it pinged in off the post.

I was also wrong yesterday about the number of Dortmund fans who would be travelling up to Kiel.

The entire away ticket allocation was sold out, and there were rumours of serious money changing hands to snap up tickets for the game.

This goes to show that Dortmund have some of the most committed and passionate fans around, and they can certainly take a portion of the credit for the continued success of their team.

The three other quarter-final games are taking place tonight. Two of these are all Bundesliga ties; Hertha Berlin are at home to Mönchengladbach and Stuttgart take on Bayern Munich.

But for Borussia Dortmund, their work in the DFB Pokal is over for the time being.

They're off to the semi final.