Kagawa’s Old Club Gets the Better of Him
There was always going to be a bit of extra spice to this one, given Shinji Kagawa lined up for Cerezo Osaka against the Bundesliga club where he spent some of the best years of his career. In the end, Kagawa got the better result. Solomon Sakuragawa scored the only goal of the game in the eighth minute at Yanmar Stadium Nagai, and Cerezo made it stand up for a 1-0 win, handing Dortmund their second pre-season defeat in Japan.
Dortmund actually had plenty of the ball for long stretches, and their build-up play looked clean enough at times, but the final ball kept letting them down. A couple of big chances came and went without really testing the Cerezo defense properly, and crosses that should’ve caused problems mostly misfired instead. It’s the kind of pre-season performance that looks fine on the possession stats and empty everywhere else, and Niko Kovač’s side never really found a consistent way through.
An Ugly Reception for Yamamoto, Then an Injury Scare
The afternoon got tougher for Dortmund off the pitch too. New signing Takato Yamamoto, on loan from Cerezo’s fierce city rivals Gamba Osaka, was jeered every time he touched the ball, with the home crowd making no secret of exactly where their old derby loyalties lay. Things got worse just past the half-hour mark when young centre-back Filippo Mane went down awkwardly trying to block a Kagawa effort with an outstretched leg and had to be withdrawn after brief treatment on the pitch — an injury scare Dortmund could’ve done without on top of an already underwhelming display.
Dortmund did look a bit sharper after the break, and Kovač’s changes brought some improvement, but clear chances to level things stayed rare all the way to full time, and Cerezo saw out the win comfortably.
What It Means Next
It’s Dortmund’s second pre-season loss on the trot, having also fallen to Fortuna Düsseldorf just before flying out to Japan, where they’ll stay until 2 August. They’re next up against FC Tokyo at the National Olympic Stadium, before their season proper begins against Bayern Munich in the Super Cup on 22 August. For Cerezo, it’s a solid marker as they build toward the resumption of J1 League action on 8 August.
Match Summary
Cerezo Osaka 1-0 Borussia Dortmund Club Friendly — Yanmar Stadium Nagai, Osaka, Japan Wednesday, 29 July 2026 Referee: Masuya Ueda
Goal: 8′ Solomon Sakuragawa (Cerezo Osaka) 1-0
Result: Cerezo Osaka beat Borussia Dortmund 1-0, handing the Bundesliga side their second straight pre-season defeat.
For live pre-season friendly scores and coverage, visit fawanews. Full results and fixtures at the official Borussia Dortmund website.
