Man of the Match Poll: Borussia Dortmund Draw Mainz 05 After Tepid Second-Half Performance

If written from the Mainz 05 perspective, today’s man of the match (MOTM) would undoubtedly be Robin Zentner, who blocked shot after shot and stopped everything the Borussia Dortmund attackers threw - er, footed, his way. The 6’4” Tim Tebow doppelgänger delivered a performance that made it easy to forget his infamous “air kick” from a few years back.

But we don’t really care about Mainz right now! What kind of performances did our BVB boys deliver today? Who stood out?

During the first half, BVB almost had an embarrassment of riches when it came to MOTM contenders. They pressed high, playing very packed with lots of possession. BVB had to be patient and that is one thing they know how to be. All the boys represented themselves well in the first 45. After the half, the performances were drastically different, almost as if they were replaced by robots.

Despite the stark contrast between halves, we must still select a MOTM. Here are the nominees:

Thomas Meunier

Some viewers were just pouring their first cup of coffee when that “blink and you missed it” play between Meunier to Marco Reus to Erling Haaland happened. Sure, the goal was ruled offside, but it ended up being indicative of Meunier’s presence in the match. Meunier had a clever foul against Mainz’s Jonathan Burkardt to break up play. He delivered a consistent performance and when he did lose possession, he was quick to make up for that and regain it. Perhaps his biggest moment was netting his first goal for the club, which levelled the game in the 73nd minute. He was in the right place to take advantage of the rebound and shortly after drew the foul that awarded BVB a penalty opportunity (even though Reus failed to convert).

Jude Bellingham

His play started promptly, leading to a nice set piece early in the match. He had several shots on goal and contributed some creative play. His name was probably mentioned more than any others as he was so active and present on the pitch. Even Patrick Owomoyela selected him as MOTM. He was a puppet master...pulling the strings, but was subbed out early in the second half by Youssoufa Moukoko.

Raphaël Guerreiro

Guerreiro is consistently the cult favorite amongst BVB fans and today, he put in another typical performance. He kept the ball moving, kept possession, making it all look easy. He was everywhere and his cross to Jadon Sancho before the half provided an excellent scoring opportunity.

Jadon Sancho

Sancho’s accuracy in the first half was decent and he put himself in the middle of play, helping drive the game forward. He, most notably, was very confident on the ball despite a drop in precision during the second half. He didn’t seem to be overcome by frustration and kept at it until the final whistle.

Okay BVB fans, we might still feel a bit salty, but who do you think deserves today’s MOTM?