Johor Southern Tigers vs. Borussia Dortmund: Takeaways from Pre-Season Friendly

On a stuffy summer's eve in early July, Borussia Dortmund continued their tour of Asia in northern Singapore with a 6-1 win over Johor Southern Tigers at the latter club's Larkin Stadium.

In a match that at least initially suggested a tougher challenge than the walkover Dortmund gave to Kawasaki Frontale earlier this week, the Malaysian side ultimately succumbed to Thomas Tuchel's bushy-tailed team over the course of the 90 minutes.

With the new Bundesliga season rapidly approaching, the new Black and Yellow boss wasted little time testing all sorts of formations, tactics and player selections in front of the fully packed stadium.

Here are the main talking points from the pre-season friendly.  

Ilkay Gundogan Looks Like His Old Self

Wong Maye-E/Associated Press

Let us only whisper it for now, but Ilkay Gundogan may well be back to his very best for Dortmund. 

Of course such a statement is one that can be taken with a pinch of salt. After all, we've only seen the central midfielder in two semi-serious games against inferior competition so far this season but in each match the German international has looked far better than he did last season. 

The manner in which Gundogan has weaved through Asian midfielders this week with the pace on the ball and with his passes has truly been a joy to behold. Add to that his fantastic free-kick goal against Johor on Thursday and it's all very good viewing for fans of the player. 

Tuchel Prefers His Full-Backs Attacking

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Whether playing a 4-1-4-1 as we saw earlier in the week against Kawasaki Frontale or the more traditional 4-2-3-1 we saw on Thursday against Johor, Tuchel seemed intent on ensuring both his full-backs were as far up the park as possible at all times. 

This may, of course, just be a factor when Dortmund are playing lesser opponents in games that really don't matter all that much, but the manner in which Lukasz Piszczek and Marcel Schmelzer both bombed forward at every point was certainly a far cry from last season's tactics. 

It was another little tweak in the tactics that differentiate Dortmund under Tuchel and their former manager Jurgen Klopp. 

Marco Reus the Striker?

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

As has been suggested already, much of Tuchel's formations and tactics from the past two games can't be taken all that seriously, when taken in context of the games themselves. 

Yet one particular tactic which has raised a few eyebrows is the manner in which the former Mainz coach has opted to play Marco Reus as a standalone striker in both friendlies. 

He was often brought on or off for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and it would seem as though the coming season will be one in which the two players will be fighting for the front spot, if the past two games are anything to go by. 

Tuchel's Reign Set to Be Peppered with Young Prospects

Shuji Kajiyama/Associated Press

On a final and bigger-picture point of view, the first two games of Dortmund's tour of Asia would suggest that the club's scouting department have done themselves proud with the number of young talents just waiting to break through and into the first team. 

In the past two games alone, we've seen the talents of defensive midfielder Julian Weigl and attacking talent Mitsuru Maruoka, along with central defender Jon Gorenc Stankovic. None of them have yet to meet their 20th birthdays. 

Add to that more established names such as Jeremy Dudziak and David Sauerland from the club's youth side, and Tuchel seems to have plenty of cover for the coming season in these young, exciting talents.