Dortmund ease into last 16!

Dortmund 1-0 Ulsan
Goals: 1-0 Svensson 36' (assist: Bellingham)

It was one-way traffic for the vast majority of the first half, with Dortmund immediately seizing control of proceedings and constantly probing to find a way through Ulsan’s deep-lying defensive block.

Felix Nmecha should have done better with a header from a Daniel Svensson free-kick, Serhou Guirassy fluffed his lines with only the goalkeeper to beat following a neat one-two with Bellingham, who himself had three presentable chances in quick succession.

Their pressure eventually took its toll shortly after the half-hour mark when Bellingham collected a loose ball inside the penalty area and teed it up for Svensson to drill low into the net.

Guirassy could have doubled the lead for Niko Kovač’s men moments before the interval only to see Ulsan goalkeeper Hyeonwoo Jo produce a stunning reflex save to keep out his close-range header.

Ulsan had their first shot of the match early in the second period, Sangwoo Kang firing straight at Gregor Kobel from the edge of the area.

It wasn’t long before Dortmund reasserted their dominance though, even if they struggled to create chances with the same frequency as the first half.

Kovač made a triple substitution to remedy that, bringing on Julian Brandt, Maximilian Beier and Julien Duranville in the sweltering Ohio heat. The latter very nearly added to the scoreline shortly after taking to the pitch, demonstrating his dribbling skill and incredible acceleration to scurry into the box and smash a left-footed effort into the side netting.

Yan Couto thought he had scored late on with a bouncing effort after more good work from Duranville, but Jo pulled off another sensational save to keep his side in the game. It ultimately mattered little, though, as Dortmund advanced as Group F winners into the last 16.

• Dortmund won the 1997 Intercontinental Cup - the Club World Cup's direct predecessor - by beating Brazil's Cruzeiro.
• Kovač also lifted the Intercontinental Cup, after starting the 2001 final for Bayern (1-0 vs. Boca Juniors).
• Like his brother Jude before him, Jobe Bellingham scored on his first competitive start for Dortmund. 
• Ulsan were the only Korean team at the Club World Cup. 
• The K-League side have lost all seven games they have plaed at a FIFA tournament.  
• US international Gio Reyna and American youngsters Cole Campbell and Mathis Albert are part of Dortmund's squad.

Teams

Dortmund: Kobel (c) - Couto, Anton, Bensebaini - Ryerson, Nmecha (Brandt 58'), Groß (Reyna 78'), Svensson - Bellingham (Beier 58'), Adeyemi (Duranville 58') - Guirassy (Chukwuemeka 78')
Unused subs: Ostrzinski, Meyer, Sabitzer, Süle, Campbell, Mané, Inacio, Albert, Coulibaly, Azhil
Out: Can (adductor), Özcan (knee), Schlotterbeck (knee)
Coach: Niko Kovač

Ulsan: Jo - Trojak (Yool 86'), Ja. Lee, Kim (c), S. Kang - Ji. Lee, Mi. Kim (Ko 46'), Bojanić (H. Lee 80'), Ludwigson - Lacava (Park 46'), Farias (C. Lee 80')
Unused subs: Moon, Ryu, M. Kang, Seo, Choi, Jung, Kim, Back, Heo, Yago
Out: -
Coach: Kim Pan-gon

As it happened!