Dortmund 3-1 Freiburg, Player Ratings: Weigl The Boss

Dortmund certainly weren’t at their best in yesterday’s 3-1 win over SC Freiburg, but they had enough moments of quality to take the three points.

Things got nervy at 2-1, but Thomas Tuchel’s men responded to the anxiety of the moment by re-taking control of the game and getting that third goal, which was one of the nicer passing moves we’ll see from BVB this season. It was exactly what the Westfalenstadion had been waiting for since Freiburg had gotten back into the game.

Freiburg showed well and didn’t lay down by any means on the road. They could’ve taken more from the game tonight, but their fans will be happy with the fight that they showed. Through five games of the season it seems like they may have what it takes to stay up.

Without further ado, let’s jump into some player ratings. Here’s how I thought each of the boys performed.

Starters

Burki 6.5: Freiburg managed 5 shots on target during the game, but most of them were right at Burki. He wasn’t at fault for the the goal, but I did almost pass out at the end of the 90 minutes when he had the ball at his feet well outside the box! No complaints though on the day for Roman.

Schmelzer 8: It was like four passes before the goal, but the Captain did start off the passing sequence that eventually led to Aubameyang’s opener. Quietly Marcel put in a shift on the left side. He won’t get credited for any assists, but he does deserve credit for his consistent defensive work and his simple, but needed, role in that first goal.

Sokratis 7: They only conceded one goal, but today was another day on which Dortmund’s defense really didn’t look completely sturdy. Sokratis was the better of the center backs. He did especially well at passing out of the back under pressure from the visitors. Still, I’m sure he’s missing playing alongside Marc Bartra.

Ginter 5: Matthias struggled at times today, and was at fault for Freiburg’s goal. Maximilian Philipp broke free to score after he received a pass that Ginter had missed with a weak sliding challenge. Defense has been a problem for Dortmund in recent times, and Ginter appears to be the weak link defensive link of the moment. He’s serviceable as a backup, but hopefully Bartra stays healthy so he doesn’t see extended time.

Piszczek 7: He’s not as quick as he used to be, but Lukasz is shocking all of us and developing a scoring touch! He’s scored two in two games in the Bundesliga, meaning he has more goals than Schalke do at the moment. His goal was the result of his willingness to go forward. He followed his pass and was in the right place at the right time to finish off a rebound. It covers up for a few defensive errors that Piszczek made during the game.

Castro 8.5: Gonzalo continued his rich vein of form this year with another influential performance in midfield. He had the presence of mind to make one more one-touch pass to find Guerreiro on the final goal. It capped off a scintillating move and gave Castro his fourth assist of the season. That ties him with Franck Ribery for the Bundesliga lead.

Dembele 7.5: Dembele continues to learn and grow accustomed to the Bundesliga. His sweeping cross for Aubameyang’s goal was a nice display of the final product that isn’t always there in Ousmane’s game at the moment. The 19-year-old might’ve had more than one assist if someone had latched on to any of his dangerous crosses that he put in throughout his time on the pitch.

Gotze 6: Gotze made an incisive pass that gave Dembele the opportunity to assist Auba, but other than that “hockey-assist” he failed to make too much of an impact on the game. It’s really annoying that there are still some people booing and whistling when he touches the ball. Hopefully that stops soon.

Mor 6.5: Mor was full of ambition, but lacked a final product. None of his shots were too close, but he did earn some free kicks and create a couple chances. He’s another young player who is still learning and adapting to the Bundesliga, but obviously has a lot of potential.

Weigl 9 (MOTM): Yesterday represented Julian Weigl’s best game of this season for Dortmund so far. He dominated the midfield, and anchored BVB’s attacks as they pushed forward. The 21-year-old had been criticized a bit for his relatively slow start to the season, but it was unfair as he was slow getting up to fitness at the very start of the year. Today was a perfect example of why Julian is one of the most highly-touted prospects in Europe.

Aubameyang 7.5: He got his goal, but if you spoke to Auba today he’d tell you he probably could’ve scored a couple more goals. His opener was the exact type of instinctive striker’s finish that we’ve come to expect from Aubameyang.

Substitutes

Pulisic 7: The American phenom came off the bench and noticeably impacted Dortmund’s offense going forward. He didn’t get a ton of time on the ball, but when he did he made a few nice runs. He set up Aubameyang for two notable chances that the striker could’ve finished. If not for excellent defending from Freiburg’s Georg Niedermeier.

Guerreiro 8.5: The Raphael Guerreiro revolution in midfield continues. I think Raph’s technical ability has surprised all of us, especially as he came to BVB as a left back. He’s clearly got what it takes to play all over the pitch. He was being rested for the Real Madrid game, but when he came on he found a way to stick the dagger into Freiburg. He capped off that beautiful passing move with the finish it deserved.

Rode 6.5: He came on very late as a sub and didn’t have to do much. Dribbled/passed out of trouble more often than he gave the ball up in those situations.