Borussia Dortmund's Jobe Bellingham has provided an explanation for his team's surprising struggles with ball possession against Mamelodi Sundowns, a match they won 4-3 in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Despite the narrow defeat, the Brazilians remarkably outplayed the Bundesliga giants in key statistical areas, challenging pre-match assumptions about the disparity in “levels.”
Many had expected the Betway Premiership side to be overwhelmed, but Masandawana defied these expectations, firmly dictating the pace and maintaining more ball possession than Niko Kovac's team.
The final statistics underscore this unexpected dominance: Miguel Cardoso’s men finished with an impressive 59% possession compared to Dortmund’s 41%, executing 511 successful passes to BVB’s 315.
While praising Sundowns' overall performance, Bellingham attributed his team's difficulty in maintaining ball possession to the “extremely hot” midday weather conditions, suggesting the heat significantly impacted their ability to control the game in their typical fashion.
BELLINGHAM ATTRIBUTES DORTMUND’S STRUGGLES TO WEATHER CONDITIONS
“The conditions made it so difficult, especially for us as a European team,” said Bellingham during the post-match press conference.
“They [Sundowns] play a fantastic game and I’m sure they are used to that kind of weather. But it something we gonna have to adapt to as tournament goes on.
“And these are just the demands of this competition. So, it was really difficult. In the game like that, you have to [find solutions], try and play fast.
“I think eventually in the game, we did much better and we can build on it.”
Sundowns are next in action against Fluminense on Wednesday, 25 June.
