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Player Ratings: Borussia Dortmund vs Tottenham Hotspur

Borussia Dortmund v Tottenham Hotspur - UEFA Champions League Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Borussia Dortmund fell out of the Champions League with a whimper, losing 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur. It was by no means an awful performance, but it was the club’s third home loss in a row. Here are our match ratings:

Manager

Peter Bosz: 4

This defeat should not lay solely on Bosz’s soldiers. It looked to me like the Players were very tentative throughout the first half, and when Tottenham equalized early in the second half and upped the pressure, they fell apart. Bosz did many things that we’ve been clamoring for: he had the defenders sit further back, he played Raffaël Guerreiro, and he started Castro on the bench. The squad in general was just mediocre.

Starting XI

Roman Bürki: 8

This was easily Bürki’s best performance of the season, which is why it was such a shame to see him stretchered off in stoppage time with a head injury. He made at least 5 or 6 key saves in the first half that gave Dortmund a chance to win.

Marcel Schmelzer: 5

Overall he didn’t contribute much to the outcome of the match either positively or negatively.

Marc Bartra: 4

Had to deal with Harry Kane, which is no easy task. Unfortunately, he got beat by Kane on the first goal and by Dele Alli on the second goal. He just couldn’t keep up physically with Tottenham’s forwards.

Dan-Axel Zagadou: 5

Again, until the goals, I thought he played pretty well. He let Kane’s shot go through his legs for the first goal, and failed to mark either Alli or Son on the second goal.

Jeremy Toljan: 5

He struggled at times with the pace of Son and Alli, and his positioning was off. The entire back line looked unsure of where exactly it was supposed to be or what it was supposed to be doing, so I won’t hold that against Toljan specifically.

Julian Weigl: 5

His first half performance was very good, vintage from 2015. The second half, not so much. He completely failed to mark Son on Tottenham’s second goal, leaving him wide open in the box.

Shinji Kagawa: 5

He created a couple decent chances, but he once again struggled with his defensive duties.

Mario Götze: 4

I still don’t see why everyone keeps calling him Dortmund’s best midfielder. He couldn’t create any offense, nor did he contribute in the buildup of play.

Andriy Yarmolenko: 7

He had a fantastic backheel assist, and another excellent lob pass to Aubameyang, who missed the net on what should have been an easy goal. He couldn’t create much else, but it’s not like the rest of the squad helped him that much.

Raphaël Guerreiro: 6

He didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he was Dortmund’s most consistent forward. It’s great to have him backed.

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang: 5

Missed a tap-in, finished another brilliant set up, didn’t do much else. Water is wet.

Substitutes

Gonzalo Castro: 5, Castro-o-meter: 40%, certified #mediocrecastro

It’s not like he was particularly bad, but he also could have been better. By the time he came in, BVB looked deflated already.

Omer Toprak: NR

Came on in the 78th minute to replace an injured Zagadou.

Roman Weidenfeller: NR

Made what was effectively a post-credits appearance when he came on for an injured Bürki in the final seconds of the match. He did take one goal kick which, to be fair, was a pretty good one.

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