Borussia Dortmund Show Dazzling Form in Rout of Manchester United on China Tour

Football fans all over the world know not too much stock ought to be put in pre-season friendly matches. Teams don't really prepare for these games, which are mostly used as a means to break the monotony that is the hard work they need to do to get ready for a gruelling season.

Even the meetings with European top clubs as part of the 2016 International Champions Cup are glorified training sessions under competitive conditions. 

Therefore, "you can't be blinded by the result" of Borussia Dortmund's 4-1 victory over Manchester United in Shanghai on Friday, as midfielder Gonzalo Castro put it, per the club's official website.

Manchester United's new boss Jose Mourinho agreed, telling MUTV (via the club's official website): "I think in pre-season the team that wins is always the team that is in an advanced stage of the preparation. Always. Never the best team, always the team that is in advance."

The Black and Yellows, of course, started their pre-season more than two weeks earlier than the Red Devils, with the meeting in China their fifth warm-up match and only United's second.

It was still a fine win for Dortmund, even against a side Mourinho will never select once the important games start, with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial unavailable after Euro 2016.

Lest anyone forgets, the Black and Yellows were also without key players such as Julian Weigl, Lukasz Piszczek, European champion Raphael Guerreiro and newly signed Germany internationals Mario Gotze and Andre Schurrle, all still on vacation after the Euros, as well as the injured Marco Reus.

In absence of those big names, it was an opportunity to shine for players who will have to fight for playing time in the coming months.

Take the midfield pairing of Castro and Sebastian Rode, for example. Following Ilkay Gundogan's transfer to Manchester City, they were already fighting for one spot next to Weigl before Gotze's arrival. The prodigal son could well end up relegating both of them to the bench in many games.

It would be the second season in a row in which 29-year-old former long-term Bayer Leverkusen man Castro would see a regular starting spot in central midfield run through his fingers, after he had signed for Dortmund in anticipation of a move from Gundogan that never came to fruition in 2015.

If Friday's match is any indication, he's not ready to leave the field to anyone without a fight. Picking up the man-of-the-match award, the versatile midfielder not only scored twice, he was also the only outfielder to play all 90 minutes in the blistering heat and high humidity of Shanghai, showing fine physical condition early in the campaign.

His first goal was a rather scrappy one, poking home a rebound from a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang free-kick he had won himself with a forceful dribble through midfield. His second, on the other hand, was an absolute beauty from distance, a clean hit to put the icing on the cake late in the game:

"

Bullet pic.twitter.com/R5ViUMvjOm

— - (@ffsWeigl) July 22, 2016"

Another one of those initiated the sequence that led to the Black and Yellows winning a penalty after Antonio Valencia handled the ball, with Gabon international Aubameyang converting with ease.

Those two high-intensity runs from Castro were the only way for Dortmund to move the ball forward with any kind of decisiveness in the first 25 or so minutes of the match, when they otherwise struggled to create much of anything.

That, of course, can be attributed to a lineup missing a ball-playing centre-back—newly signed Marc Bartra made his debut in black and yellow in the second half—and, perhaps more importantly, Weigl to facilitate possession.

In his place, former Bayern Munich benchwarmer Rode played as the deepest midfielder, often dropping between the central defenders to help out in the initial buildup phase. That's not a role suited to his strengths, however, as he's more of a powerful box-to-box player than a deep-lying playmaker such as Nuri Sahin or a pass master of Weigl's calibre.

Overall, however, the 25-year-old did well out of his natural habitat, providing a passing outlet for Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Sven Bender in central defence and spreading the ball with adequate accuracy. Providing a chance for Aubameyang with a delightful lobbed pass, he showed he can be more than a defensive-minded willing runner in midfield.

Many fans were sceptical of the €12 million signing after he played fewer than 600 minutes of competitive football under Pep Guardiola last season, per Transfermarkt.co.uk, but he can't really be judged before he gets to play next to Weigl in a meaningful match, because Rode is not the kind of player who will wow anyone in friendlies. If nothing else, his performance against United was encouraging. 

A player fans are much more excited about is Ousmane Dembele, and the 19-year-old provided the highlight of the match with an incredible goal, embarrassing a seasoned professional such as Marcos Rojo with ease, as this video shows:

The former Stade Rennais attacker didn't do much else in the game, but one moment of genius was enough to have onlookers marvel at his qualities:

Dortmund fought off heavy competition for the Frenchman's services, and judging by his performances in pre-season so far, he was worth every cent. Not everything comes off—there are quite a few bad first touches and it remains to be seen how he copes with pressure on the pitch—but for every mistake, there's been an exciting dribble or clever pass.

One can't help keeping the eyes glued to BVB's No. 7. "It's testament to the quality of Dembele that in a squad as talented as Dortmund's he is still the player that evokes the most excitement," Hamish Mackay wrote for the Mirror.

His unpredictability on the ball will be a real asset early in his Dortmund career, and the same can be said about Emre Mor, who also made his debut after an hour.

The Turkey international, who will turn 19 on Sunday, ran right at defenders nearly every time he had the ball, dishing out nutmegs and winning free-kicks.

After his being the lone bright spot in an otherwise forgettable Euros campaign for Turkey, 30 minutes in a friendly were enough to confirm that Dortmund have added a rough diamond.

Head coach Thomas Tuchel's biggest problem in the coming season could well be trying to fit all his individual talent into a team. The Black and Yellows have assembled an unprecedented depth in midfield and attack, so the 42-year-old will have to make difficult decisions each and every week.

For now, the added competition seems to get the best out of the players, if the friendly against United is any indication. Apart from a few individual mistakes that can probably be attributed to mental lapses that are normal at this stage of the preparation, the Ruhr side showed impressive form.

Lars Pollmann also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.