Match Ratings: Werder Bremen 1-2 Borussia Dortmund

It’s amazing what a win (and a change of manager) can do. Borussia Dortmund scrapped their way to a 2-1 win their first of the post-Favre era, and the widespread pessimism has begun to clear, replaced by a more positive, optimistic outlook. Perhaps things aren’t so bad after all?

Lucien Favre left the club in a better state than he found it, for which we should be thankful (thank you daddy), but there was a growing sense that he was unable to take the team to the next level. In comes BVB’s savior, Lord Edin Terzic. I don’t think there was a significant tactical shift in Terzic’s first game. It will probably take a few more games to work out what the new gaffer has in mind, but it definitely felt like Borussia played with a little more freedom and motivation.

Here’s how we rated the performances from the first of many Terzic victories:

Starters

Roman Burki

Paul: 7

Gregory: 7

Bremen’s goal was an immaculate shot by Möhwald. Better keepers might have saved it, but it would be harsh to say that he should have done better there.

Mats Hummels

Paul: 7

Gregory: 7

Manuel Akanji

Paul: 6

Akanji shoulders pretty much all the blame for Werder Bremen’s goal, but I thought he was solid otherwise, and given his performances the rest of the season, I’m willing to forgive the odd mistake.

Gregory: 7

Made a poor pass that led to Bremen’s goal, however made up for it by earning the penalty that Reus scored on. Still playing like one of the best CBs in the Bundesliga right now, despite the error.

Mateu Morey

Paul: 5

Struggled a little in the first half, and was arguably Dortmund’s worst player. Given the system, and the flow of the game, I think Meunier would have coped a lot better.

Gregory: 5

Looked vulnerable in defense, despite some decent pressing, and struggled to have an impact in attack. Surprised that Terzic did not take him off earlier in the match.

Rapha Guerreiro

Paul: 7

Gregory: 8

Axel Witsel

Paul: 6

Gregory: 6

Jude Bellingham

Paul: 6

Bellingham struggled against Stuttgart, so there were some that felt he should be benched for yesterday’s game, but I thought he was pretty solid throughout.

Gregory: 7

Slowly becoming the most important cog in BVB’s midfield.

Jadon Sancho

Paul: 6

Gregory: 6

Sancho looks void of confidence. He created opportunities, and he had shots on goal, but he just couldn't finish. His rut continues.

Gio Reyna

Paul: 7

Gregory: 7

Marco Reus

Paul: 8

Reus led by example yesterday. It wasn’t the perfect performance, there were a few moments where he was wasteful or sloppy, but he was a really good creative outlet, and scored the winning goal.

Gregory: 8

One of those matches where you are looking for someone to step up, and Reus did exactly that. Led the front line well, consistently made creative moves and was almost always involved in any attacking ideas. Good for him to get the goal, despite the initial PK save, and could have gotten at least one assist or an additional goal during the match.

Photo by Mario Hommes/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Youssoufa Moukoko

Paul: 7

I’m giving Moukoko a slightly generous 7 because I thought his presence made things easier for those around him, and he deserves credit for getting into some really good goalscoring positions. The fact he didn’t manage to finish one of them off was a little disappointing, but that will come soon enough.

Gregory: 6

It feels good to have an actual CF start at CF. He played well, held the ball up well, had some good turns and ideas on the ball, but looked like his age at times. Nobody can fault a 16 year old for showing his age, and looking a step behind on occasion. Moukoko showed glimpses of his potential at CF when drifting into pockets of space.

Substitutes

Julian Brandt

Paul: 6

Gregory: 7

Emre Can

N/A

Dan-Axel Zagadou

N/A

Lukasz Piszczek

N/A

Julian Brandt

N/A

Overall

Paul: 7

We created plenty of chances and were unlucky not to score at least one more goal. I think these kind of games were the ones that Favre was getting a lot of stick for, but with a new manager at the helm, and a renewed sense of optimism among the fans (I hope...), it’s easier to look at these games and see the positives. We didn’t finish the chances we had, but the chances were there. Things will improve.

Gregory: 7

Should have finished more chances than just the two on the day. Not having an experienced CF can do that. But it was good to see the team be more aggressive at attacking the box and having more pressing on the defensive side of the ball, though inconsistently at times. It’s good for BVB to not build an entire game plan around countering and relying on Sancho and Reyna to conjure up a moment of brilliance. There were definite improvements from Terzic’s philosophy and ideas and hopefully those improvements can be maintained in the following weeks. Even without the win, the game would have had some definite positives to take from the result.