Borussia Dortmund drew Hertha Berlin yesterday in what was, in the most technical sense, a football match. Quite literally nothing happened during the first half, and a bit more happened during the second half. Here are ourmatch ratings:

Manager

Peter Stöger: 5

Injuries and Aubameyang’s antics meant that Stöger was always going to field a less-than-ideal squad. That being said, I sure would have preferred Isak at striker instead of André Schürrle, who failed to contribute anything significant. I’m also not sure why Dahoud wasn’t included in the starting eleven.

Starting XI

Roman Bürki: 5

Faced two shots on target, let one in. That’s 50%. 50, 5.

Lukasz Piszczek: 6

His passing looks a little rusty, but he defended well and didn’t directly allow any Hertha goals. Hertha didn’t generate much offense, so he overall didn’t have to do much.

Omer Toprak: 6

Spent most of the match passing along the back line. Defended well when called upon.

Sokratis: 6

Overall played decently, but defended poorly on Davie Selke’s goal. He kept him onside during the buildup, and then let Selke get in front of him to reach the cross first.

Jeremy Toljan: 5

Had the type of game where he’d create a turnover, spring down the pitch trying to start a counterattack, and immediately give the ball away with a poor pass or a bad touch. He let Valentino Lazaro get in a low cross that created Hertha’s goal.

Julian Weigl: 6

Did a good job controlling the tempo of the midfield. His solid play was squandered by a lackluster attacking performance.

Mario Götze: 5

Mediocre.

Shinji Kagawa: 5

Shinji was definitely not his usual dynamic, technically-solid self. He had plenty of poor touches, and generally struggled to create anything. He absolutely blew a header inside the six-yard box that came from Pulisic.

Christian Pulisic: 7

Honestly, I felt bad for him. He would so frequently make a great play by beating a defender or creating a chance with a pass, only for Schürrle, Shinji, or Götze to immediately squander those chances. Sometimes, he would try take on the entire Hertha back line by himself, only to be smothered out.

Jaden Sancho: 8

Can you believe this guy is only 17? He was consistenly the most dangerous player on the pitch, and he almost single-handedly created Shinji’s goal.

André Schürrle: 4

Occupied 90 minutes of playing time that should have belonged to Isak.

Substitutes

Alexsander Isak: NR

Didn’t have much time to contribute anything significant.

Andriy Yarmolenko:

I think Gilles put it best:

Your Thoughts

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