Thomas Tuchel's New-Look Borussia Dortmund Down Juventus in Pre-Season Friendly

Borussia Dortmund continued their bright pre-season preparations on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Italian champions and Champions League finalists Juventus at the AFG Arena in Switzerland.

Massimo Allegri’s side may have been the very team that knocked Dortmund out of Europe just a few months ago, but on Saturday they looked far from their best as they began their summer tour of friendly matches against a well-drilled and fully fit Thomas Tuchel side.

The first half was a dominant affair for Dortmund, who went into the match the fitter of the two sides, and it certainly looked clear for all to see as the Bundesliga side darted around their Italian opposition in the opening 45 minutes.

Juventus proved impressively hard to break down last season when on form, but on Saturday afternoon we saw Tuchel’s side regularly break through the Italian defence and test the very best of Gianluigi Buffon’s ability.

This in turn proved to be perfect training for Tuchel’s side as they broke down half-hearted Juventus attacks or caught interceptions in the middle of the park and routinely counter-attacked against their opponents.

It has been the constant attacking in waves that has best depicted the changes Dortmund have made this summer under their new manager, and they were clear for all to see as they continued to torment Juventus.

Alas, it was this attacking in packs—a style that undoubtedly suits Dortmund when they have played a 4-3-3 of late—that allowed the German side to take the lead just five minutes before half-time, when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang played an inch-perfect counter-attacking move with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

The Gabon striker found himself in possession of the ball just five feet from the halfway line; yet after a simple look up he was away to thump the ball down the left flank toward a running Mkhitaryan.

The Armenian midfielder composed himself in front of the opposing full-back before playing a cutback to the pursuing Aubameyang to finish the move. Dortmund had taken the lead playing football they’d practiced all summer.

Tuchel’s move to play around with the tactics of the side as soon as he came in was no great surprise to anyone at the club, but the manner in which he already has Dortmund breaking teams down and attacking in packs is a real testament to the ability of his coaching.

Rather than punt the ball up the park and hope either Marco Reus or Aubameyang latch on to something, Tuchel has enforced rules ensuring both strikers only receive the ball on the ground. Add to that the form of former benchwarmers Kevin Kampl, Shinji Kagawa and indeed Mkhitaryan, and we have an entire attacking line that looks reborn and ready to score goals.

Things slowed down considerably when Julian Weigl—the young midfielder from 1860 Munich who has wasted little time proving his worth to the first team this summer—was replaced by the slower, blunter Sven Bender at the heart of Dortmund’s midfield, but that didn’t stop the German side.

Albeit a move that seemed to overlook the new central midfield pairing, Reus doubled Dortmund's lead in the 63rd minute with a wonderful solo run that saw him run the length of the Juventus’ half to calmly slot the ball in to the back of the net.

Although Dortmund fans would be used to seeing the German international bursting through defences, the speed at which not only he but Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan broke was quite impressive. Although Reus didn’t use his options, this was another Dortmund goal born from a counter attack.

Away from the tours of Asia and trips to minnow sides across Europe, Juventus really offered the first genuine test of Tuchel’s reign as the new Dortmund manager. And despite their notable lack of fitness, fans and critics alike would have been impressed with the manner in which this new-look side dismantled the Italian champions for much of Saturday afternoon.

Dortmund have already changed so much under Tuchel, and from what we've seen so far this summer it has all been for the better.