German Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund kicked off its first International Champions Cup China campaign in style, hammering Premier League legends Manchester United 4-1 at Shanghai Stadium on Friday.

The crowds chanted all night in the 80,000-capacity stadium, which was a little over half-full despite tickets being sold out. After 18 minutes, Gonzalo Castro netted a scrappy rebound from a free kick, gifting Dortmund an early 1-0 lead.

United's Antonio Valencia conceded a penalty with a handball just before the 35-minute mark, which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang converted with a clean strike down the center of the goal, increasing Dortmund's lead to 2-0. The Germans continued to apply pressure all the way to halftime, dominating with 60 percent of possession and nine shots on goal to just 1 from United.

Dortmund's possession increased during the second half, and after 56 minutes, Ousmane Dembele scored a blinder from the edge of the penalty box. United quickly got one back with a well-worked tap-in for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, bringing the deficit down to 3-1, and for just a moment there seemed to be a glimmer of hope for United.

Suspense built until the 82nd minute, when Castro hammered away his second goal of the game to seal a 4-1 victory for Dortmund.

As torrents of red-shirted fans descended the steps, there was a stench of irony in the air, with the tune "Glory-Glory Man United" blaring out from franchised booths at the stadium exit. There were few yellow shirts to be seen, a testament to the popularity of the Reds in Shanghai.

United supporters leaving the stadium had little to say about their team's performance. A group of South American soccer fans, out to support United, had left 10 minutes before the final whistle. They explained, "It was a boring game, though there were many goals."

Another United supporter summed up the dismay at his side's loss: "4-1, what can you say?"

Some were impressed with United's new signing, Eric Bailly, who according to a fan leaving the stadium, "killed it."

Dortmund supporters were surprised that the score line wasn't closer, citing the absence of key players from United's lineup such as Wayne Rooney, Ibrahimovic and Schweinsteiger. The Reds may have outnumbered the yellow shirts of BVB fans, but those who were there praised the atmosphere in the stadium created by masses of United supporters.

"The stadium really amazed us, [but] it was too hot and too humid." BVB fans commented on the Manchester players' performance with a touch of sarcasm in regards to the temperature, "The heat was really too much for everyone."

Temperatures in Shanghai since last week have skied over 37 C, and not much cooler at night. When the game kicked off at 8 pm, it was a mercury-soaring 35 C. While United melted in the heat, the boys from Dortmund made no sweat of the occasion.

"I didn't expect this because we had many new players in the team; I thought maybe we can win 2-1 or 3-1, but we played so strong!" exclaimed a BVB supporter.

One thing all the fans had in common was their desire for a cold beer. A breathless fan from Dortmund sighed, "I've been drinking green tea for hours!"

Whereas the German team only arrived Thursday evening, the day before the match, United have been in Shanghai since Wednesday, drumming up support among the Shanghai crowd. Fans were lucky to see the Red Devils training at the stadium Thursday, and local press got a juicy scoop of the gossip surrounding Jose Mourinho's quest to sign Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. Luke Shaw also made his first return to United's lineup in 10 months.

Next in the ICC China 2016 tournament, United were headed to Beijing for a derby-match against Manchester City, which was canceled, and Borussia Dortmund go up against Manchester City in Shenzhen.

Borussia Dortmund vs Manchester United in ICC China game in Shanghai

Photo: CFP

 
Newspaper headline: Borussia Dortmund score a 4-1 win over Manchester United