Player Ratings: Eintracht Trier vs Borussia Dortmund

Starting XI:

Roman Weidenfeller - 5: I don't really know what to give him, a 1? A 10? It doesn't matter, he wasn't really involved in this game, he had 0 saves because Trier had 0 shots on goal.

Marcel Schmelzer - 6: Uneventful game for the captain, defensively solid but still has to work out some kinks with Schürrle on the left flank.

Marc Bartra - 8: Someone really wants to show that he can replace our former #15. His performance reminded me of our former captain, a few good interceptions, solid passing with some high risk/high rewards passes mixed in (like the one before Auba's first shot against the woodwork) and the occasional run forward. Good showing.

Sokratis - 6: Our Greek warrior had no one to tackle, must've been boring for him, probably got some raw meat on the bus home to calm him down.

Felix Passlack - 7: Piszczek has to worry about his job! Passlack again with a good performance even though he wasn't really challenged on defense.

Sebastian Rode - 8: He did what he had to do, intercepted every ball that came in his vicinity and distributed the ball precisely to our playmakers.

Gonzalo Castro - 9: A very Gündogan-esque performance from Castro which is fantastic. It is important that he can replace our former playmaker on the "8". Those efforts don't show up on stat sheets because those players rarely score or directly assist goals (even though he had one assist), but they are so important for the flow and build-up of the game.

André Schürrle - 7: One goal, one assist (kind of) for a first start is pretty good. I was a bit skeptical about this transfer but Tuchel is getting him there.

Shinji Kagawa - 9: Who needs Götze when you have Straw Hat Kagawa? Shinji had a great performance with two goals and many good scenes on offense. Also he tied Norbert Dickel with 50 goals for BVB so he'll definitely be our next stadium announcer when Nobby retires. Don't question it, it's gonna happen.

Ousmane Dembélé - 5: He's 19, those games are going to happen. It was an uneven performance from our young prospect. He often ran mindlessly into a wall of defenders and had some sloppy passes that were intercepted, he still has to learn a lot but again he's young, he's allowed to have those kinds of games.

However, even in a subpar game we were still able to witness why he is so special. He initiated the third goal with an outstanding run. Opponents beware: Open space+ Ousmane Dembélé=pain, a lot of pain.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 6: He really wanted to score but it just was one of those days. If it was up to me we have covered our quota for post/crossbar hits for the Hinrunde.

Subs:

Adrian Ramos - 5: Ramos....

Emre Mor - 8: We will have a lot of fun with this kid won't we?

Raphaël Guerreiro - 5: Wait he played?!