For the second time in a week, Borussia Dortmund came from behind for an enthralling win with a barrage of second half goals. BVB were not perfect. Their defensive struggles were glaring, and almost allowed Augsburg to come away with a draw. Were it not for the last-minute heroics of Paco Alcacer, this would have been the case. Instead, Dortmund sit on top of the table going into the international break. Here are our match ratings:

Manager

Lucien Favre: 6

Once again, Lucien Favre’s starting XI struggled to create many offensive chances. The Weigl-Witsel pivot was mostly ineffective, and Max Philipp and Jacob Bruun-Larsen were wasteful going forward. It wasn’t until Favre made his substitutions (a certain Spaniard was particularly effective) that Dortmund were able to turn the match around.

While Favre’s system has been reliable defensively so far, the BVB back line was downright bad against Augsburg. On Augsburg’s second goal, all 4 defenders had a chance to stop the goal, and none did.

Starting XI

Roman Bürki: 5

This was probably Roman Bürki’s worst performance of the season. He let the ball go between his legs on Augsburg’s first goal, something keepers are really supposed to avoid. He also got a hand on Augsburg’s game-tying goal in the 86th minute, but couldn’t stop it from going over the line. While he did make some key saves, considering how well Bürki has played, this match was a noticeable dip in form.

Achraf Hakimi: 6

Hakimi assisted Götze’s go-ahead goal, and generally combined well with Jadon Sancho to attack effectively along the right-hand side. However, much like the rest of Dortmund’s back line, he was very shaky on defense, with several unforced turnovers. He failed to mark

Dan Axel-Zagadou: 7

Zagadou was Dortmund’s most consistent defender. He won a team-high six aerial duels, blocked 3 shots, and was not directly at fault for any of Augsburg’s goals.

Manuel Akanji: 4

Akanji was not very good, especially by his standards. He failed to mark André Hahn on Augsburg’s second goal, which allowed the Augsburg forward to deflect it to Philipp Max, the eventual goal scorer. He also slipped at a crucial time on Augsburg’s first goal, which allowed Finnbogason to pick up the ball and give Augsburg the lead.

Abdou Diallo: 5

Abdou Diallo has struggled in both of his performances at left-back. He was frequently caught out of position, and at times struggled to have the impact going forward that we would expect from someone like Marcel Schmelzer. He failed to block a cross from Alfred Finnbogason on Augsburg’s second goal, which effectively allowed the goal to happen.

Axel Witsel: 7

While Witsel struggled during the first half, he was able to leave his impact on the match. His pass to Sancho, who then set up Paco’s first goal, was sublime. Witsel did not play well with Julian Weigl, but when Götze came on, Dortmund’s midfield was much more creative going forward.

Julian Weigl: 6

Weigl struggled to handle Augsburg’s unusually high press, and was eventually subbed off for Mario Götze. It’s pretty clear that either Weigl or Witsel should play in the #6 role, rather than both at the same time. Even though he had an absurd 98% passing completion rate, most of those passes were either lateral or going backwards.

Marco Reus: 6

Marco Reus may have been playing with an injury, which would have explained his subpar performance. He missed on a pretty open chance in the 14th minute, and didn’t create much else, even though he was playing the #10 role for 90 minutes.

Jacob Bruun-Larsen: 5

The young Dane had three key passes, but was unable to create any goals in the time he was on. Favre subbed him off for Raphael Guerreiro in the 70th minute.

Jadon Sancho: 7

Sancho was probably Dortmund’s best starter. He created a number of good chances, including Paco Alcacer’s first goal. He continues to show great chemistry with Achraf Hakimi and Marco Reus.

Maximilian Philipp: 5

I feel a bit sorry for Max Philipp. He’s not playing in his natural position, and it’s clear that he’s trying very hard to be a successful center forward. It just hasn’t clicked for him thus far. When Dortmund return from the international break, I don’t think there’s much of a question who BVB’s starting striker will be.

Substitutes

Paco Alcacer: 10

Wanna know how to get a 10? Come on at the hour mark, score the game-tying goal within seconds, have your team fall behind only to score another game-tying goal, and then score the game-winning goal with a gorgeous free-kick in the last minute of extra time. That’s how you get a 10.

Raphael Guerreiro: 7

This was Guerreiro’s first appearance for Borussia Dortmund in a long time. He was fairly effective, registering a cheeky assist on Paco’s second goal, and managing a couple other shots on target.

Mario Götze: 7

Götze only played for 12 minutes, but he still had time to grab a go-ahead goal and was a significant improvement over Julian Weigl. He moved a bit further forward up the pitch, and allowed Dortmund’s back line to link more with the forwards.

Your Thoughts

Do you agree with my ratings? Leave your thoughts below.