Player Ratings: VfL Wolfsburg 0-3 BVB

A great start to the season for the black and yellows. The team looked dominant and Götze/Pulisic seem to be in midseason form. An all-around successful start.

COACH

Peter Bosz: 8

Coach Peter Bosz had a plan and the team executed that plan perfectly. During the pre-season we saw a lot of games where Dortmund pressed high but had more than just a few defensive breakdowns and looked shaky on offense. This performance should have appeased a lot of fans, at least for now.

Dortmund looked great in possession (71%), dominating the pace of the game and dismantling Wolfsburg time and time again. The high press worked, giving Dortmund the ball back almost immediately when they lost it. We’ll have to see how it works against better opponents but this was a great start.

STARTING XI

Roman Bürki: 6

Bürki had absolutely 0 things to do during this match.

Dan-Axel Zagadou: 7

A much-improved performance from Zagadou compared to the Supercup. Always present on defense and he even had a couple good moments on offense. He will probably never be a “natural” left back but he’s ok until Schmelzer and Guerreiro are back.

Marc Bartra: 8

He did that. Apart from one of the best goals we’ll see all season he was solid on defense even though he had a couple shaky moments on defense but Wolfsburg did not take advantage.

Sokratis: 7

Sokratis did what he had to do on defense to keep the clean sheet.

Lukasz Piszczek: 6

A solid game from the Polish right back. He was great on defense but he does not have the pace for his vintage runs up the pitch anymore. Whenever he intervened on offense there was glaring hole on defense because he did not have the speed to get back in time. This went unpunished against Wolfsburg but I could hurt Dortmund against better opponents.

Nuri Sahin: 6

An unremarkable game from Sahin. He controlled the game in midfield and distributed the ball to the playmakers on offense, in other words he did what he had to do.

Gonzalo Castro: 7

A low-key appearance from #GoodCastro. Yes, he did miss a great chance to give BVB the lead in the opening minutes but as the game went on he settled in and moved around a lot in midfield. He was always available as a passing option and made some very good runs and passes.

Mario Götze: 8

He was everywhere. An excellent performance from Götze who was the link between the Sahin/Castro pivot and the front three. He controlled BVB’s offense with great passes that carved up Wolfsburg’s defense. His link up play with Pulisic was particularly good, getting the assist on the first goal of the season.

Christian Pulisic: 9 MOTM

Ousmane who? Pulisic was phenomenal, scoring BVB’s first goal of the season and getting the assist on Auba’s goal that sealed the victory for Dortmund. He was a constant threat and one of Dortmund’s best players.

Maximilian Philipp: 6

Philipp was upstaged by his partner on the other swing but it was still a good game from him. Philipp does not have the flashy plays like a Dembélé would but he still makes very good off-the-ball runs that open up spaces for other players. In addition he works hard on defense which is extremely valuable in Bosz’s high pressing system.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 8

He started the season where he left off the last one, scoring goals. In Bosz’s system he is a lot more involved in the game, dropping into midfield on a few occasions and even appearing on the wings. Nevertheless he is still a striker at heart and he was there in the 60th minute to convert a Pulisic-cross to finish off the game for Dortmund.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Mahmoud Dahoud: 6

Came on in the 61st minute for Götze. Dahoud had about a half hour to show his talent. He had a few good moments but Dortmund’s game seemed a lot more fluid with Götze in the game.

Felix Passlack: NR

Came on in the 78th minute for Zagadou.

Shinji Kagawa: NR

Came on in the 86th minute for Pulisic.