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What a game!
In a record setting-game, Borussia Dortmund was able to win and preserve the lead in the Champions League group. It was a no-defense game that was definitely fun to watch but more than just a bit worrying. Let's get to it.
Thomas Tuchel: 5
Tuchel opted to rotate heavily and rightfully so. If we had one game left on the schedule to rotate and give some starters a breather this was definitely it. However that decision would have some consequences, our defense was atrocious. It was the worst defensive performance this season and would have buried us against any other opponent. Luckily our offense was able to outscore them today. I doubt we'll see this formation ever again, so we shouldn't call for the end of the world just yet.
Roman Weidenfeller: 6
A very unlucky comeback in the Champions League for our "oldie". Roman was absolutely not to blame for any of the goals, he was left alone by his backline. When he had a chance to get to the ball he did. We'll be alright with him until the winter break.
Felix Passlack: 2
He scored and became the youngest German player to ever score in the Champions League. That's all what was positive about his performance today. He left his left side unmarked for most of the night and lost track of his opponent more than just once. It seemed like he only cared about running forward and playing offense. This was an inexcusable performance and has to be addressed by Thomas Tuchel.
Marc Bartra: 1
Bartra was the worst player on the pitch and it wasn't even close. He lost seemingly every duel and looked extremely poor during the first two Legia goals. His positioning was off which put him at a disadvantage for most of the game. With performances like these it will be difficult to see him start a lot more games.
Matthias Ginter: 2
Oh Matze.
A look at the first Legia goal sums up his career at CB. He has all the tools to succeed but his decision making is lacking at times. He just decided to stop defending and Legias striker took advantage. It is time to move him over to RB where he can truly shine.
Sebastian Rode: 5
Rode filled in at right-back and moved to CB later in the game. He was probably the best "defender" out there today but that doesn't say much tonight.
Nuri Sahin: 5
A very uneven night for the Turkey international. He had some good moments like the beautiful chipped ball to Kagawa who set up Reus for his first goal and obviously the goal he scored himself, although he has Legias goalkeeper to thank for that one. However the rest of the game was sub-par. He didn't really control the game like we're used to with Julian Weigl and at this point in his career he is simply to slow to track players on the defense. Legia was able to just run past him time and time again on their counter attacks and he was unable to support our defense in any way.
Gonzalo Castro: 7
"Gonzo" tried his best to dictate the game but in the end was unable to do it. He did play some nice passes though and mostly set up players to succeed.
Christian Pulisic: 7
Not the best performance from the young American but he still had some amazing moments. The run to set up the seventh goal of the night was breathtaking. Seeing him and Passlack celebrate the seventh goal of the evening like the crazy kids they are was worth the admission money alone.
Shinji Kagawa: 8
Shinji scored twice in less than 2 minutes to equalize and give the black and yellows the lead, and one of them was a header! A solid performance from our young Samurai after a shaky start to the season.
Also there is something going in his face, we should keep an eye on that.
Ousmane Dembélé: 9
One goal and three assists is usually a stat-line that gets you MOTM but not tonight. Still the Frenchman had one of his best performances for BVB. His decision making was good unlike recent weeks.
Marco Reus: 10 MOTM
El Capitano is back and he came back in style. Three goals and one assist is not bad at all for a guy who hasn't played in 185 days. The team really missed his finishing and leadership at the start of the season, let's hope he can stay healthy for the rest of the season.
Substitutions:
Erik Durm: 6
Durm was solid and was able to calm down the Legia runs on the left side after he came on and Passlack moved to RB. He's still a bit rusty which is to be expected but he can challenge Schmelzer for the LB position once he's back at 100%.
Pierre-Emereick Aubameyang: NR
In a short period of time PEA still managed to leave his mark on the game. He was a bit unlucky when one of his shots bounced of the post but he recorded an assist when he set up the Robin to his Batman when Reus scored the final goal of the game.
André Schürrle: NR
Schürrle came on late in the game and while he tried to get the offense going on the left flank it was to late to leave a mark on a game full of highlights.