JOHOR BAHRU - Eight-time German champions Borussia Dortmund made it two convincing wins in a row on their Asian tour after crushing 2014 Malaysia Super League (MSL) winners Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) 6-1 on Thursday night.
Here are three observations to come out of the game at Larkin Stadium, just over the Causeway from Singapore:
1. Asian business trip, not vacation
Tuesday night's 6-0 trouncing of J.League outfit Kawasaki Frontale was the first indication of how seriously Borussia Dortmund are taking this trip.
Some European clubs go on Asian tours with a less intense mindset. But the German side are looking to sharpen up under new head coach Thomas Tuchel -- a former Mainz boss like his predecessor Jurgen Klopp -- before an important Europa League qualifier later this month.
On top of that, Dortmund are looking to build on the developmental partnership they formalised in March with MSL big spenders, JDT.
During the afternoon of the game, players engaged in meet-and-greet sessions with fans in two nearby shopping centres.
Once the match kicked off at 9.45 p.m. -- later than usual because of the fasting month of Ramadan -- the 2013 Champions League finalists didn't disappoint in a starting side led by 2014 World Cup winner Mats Hummels and featuring the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Dortmund delighted the crowd with an attack-minded 4-2-3-1 that saw full-backs Lukasz Piszczek and Marcel Schmelzer pushing forward with almost reckless abandon.
And it was one-time Liverpool target Gundogan who opened the scoring in the 22nd minute from an exquisite free kick from just outside the box after Mkhitaryan was brought down by Gary Steven Robbat.
Aubameyang spawned two golden opportunities before making it 2-0 just before the half hour after Schmelzer whipped in the cross from the left.
Ninety seconds later, a blunder by JDT goalkeeper Farizal Marlias gifted Dortmund's third with an easy tap-in by Kevin Kampl to give the Germans a firm grip on the game.
2. Japanese return to Larkin
Almost eighteen years ago, Japanese fans descended on the iconic Larkin Stadium -- now officially known as the Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium -- as the Samurai Blue defeated Iran 3-2 in an AFC playoff to earn a place at the 1998 World Cup.
The hero that day was Hidetoshi Nakata, who set up all three goals, including the winner in extra-time -- a golden goal. The following year he would sign with Perguia, going onto become Japan's first major star of Serie A, appearing in three World Cups.
Shinji Kagawa's appearance in this scruffy border town created a similar buzz to Nakata strutting his stuff as a 20-year-old in November 1997, partly because of his past connection to Manchester United, the best supported English Premier League cub in Malaysia.
After scoring two goals against Kawasaki Frontale two days earlier, Kagawa came on at the start of the second half, to the delight of the crowd of about 15,000, which included a healthy sprinkling of yellow-shirted fans from Germany.
After showing some nice touches with fellow second half sub Marco Reus, Kagawa dazzled JDT with his dribbling skills. Then he unleashed a powerful shot that beat keeper Farizal in the 58th minute only to rebound off the bar.
But he found the back of the net with his left foot from close range in the 74th minute after a breathtaking exchange of passes with Reus and his countryman Mitsuru Maruoka, an 19-year-old central midfielder on-loan from J-League club, Cerezo Osaka.
Just like the famous victory over Iran almost two decades ago, the football skills of the Japanese will be remembered in Malaysia's most southern state.
3. JDT's important month
Reigning Malaysian champions JDT had to postpone a scheduled MSL match against Selangor this week to accommodate their visitors from Germany.
Meanwhile, their chief rivals Pahang defeated Sarawak 3-1 on Wednesday night to go five points above them at the top of the table.
JDT's game against Selangor will now be played on Monday night followed by a break for Hari Raya. This will be followed by an intense month of MSL matches and their AFC Cup quarterfinal against South China AA of Hong Kong.
In truth, the Dortmund game, however strategically important and celebrated by the fans, came at an inconvenient time for coach Mario Gomez's side, who took to the field without three of their four import players.
But starting for Johor was Brazilian central defender Marcos Antonio, a former FC Nuremberg player whose only Bundesliga appearance in 2012 saw him subbed off after 15 minutes after making two costly errors against VfB Stuttgart.
Malaysia international Amri Yahyah famously scored twice against visiting Manchester United in 2009 and he set up JDT's only goal of the night in the 39th minute.
After the miskick from Hummels, Amri found himself at the Dortmund byline. His backwards pass was spectacularly volleyed home by Gary Steven, who had a training spell with the German club earlier this year.
Yahyah was also lively in the second half, catching Dormund on the counter attack on more than one occasion and forcing Greece international defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos to concede a yellow card.
JDT put in a spirited performance after the break before tired legs allowed Dortmund to grab late goals through Reus and Jeremy Dudziak to give the score a more lopsided look.
The gap in class was obvious for all to see, but the Malaysian champions gave a good account of themselves ahead of Monday' s must-win game against Selangor.