Borussia Dortmund punished Manchester United’s defensive mistakes on Sunday, as the English Premier League powerhouses lost 3-2 to the Bundesliga team in Las Vegas to end their North American trip.
At the Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, an intriguing match was decided by a second-half goal from Dortmund replacement Youssoufa Moukoko.
The likes of Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and newly acquired Mason Mount were all bench players for United manager Erik ten Hag’s starting lineup, which was essentially a reserve squad.
But in the first half, United’s impromptu starting lineup was more than a match for Dortmund, dominating for lengthy stretches before Diogo Dalot gave the Red Devils the lead with a long-range strike on minute 24.
However, Dortmund’s two goals in a minute from Dutch forward Donyell Malen in the last seconds of the first half completely changed the course of the match.
The first occurred when Karim Adeyemi’s right-side surge went unchecked by United’s defenders.
A group of United defenders were paying attention, but Adeyemi was able to square for Malen, who hooked in from close range.
A minute later, Malen scored again, capitalizing on a United blunder in which Victor Lindelof lost control of the ball while attempting to pass out from the back of the area.
In the first few seconds of the second half, when another defensive blunder—this one by Harry Maguire—allowed Sebastien Haller a shot on goal, United was fortunate to avoid falling behind 3-1.
Andre Onana, the goalie for United, made a stop before rejoicingly seeing Adeyemi miss the follow-up with the goal open.
In the 52nd minute, Brazilian attacker Antony netted a low shot from inside the box to pull United even again following a poor clearing by Dortmund veteran Mats Hummels.
With 30 minutes left, Ten Hag signaled a change, and Rashford immediately increased the attacking threat.
However, the game-winning goal was scored by Dortmund when veteran Marco Reus found a nice opening and sent up Moukoko.