After a strong run of performances in all competitions, Borussia Dortmund’s good form has finally come to an end against F.C. Köln. After an electric Erling Haaland goal in the opening minutes, Dortmund’s midfield dominance fell apart, and Köln were able to re-enter the game. A questionable Bellingham handball and a Meunier blunder led to the billy goats taking a 2-1 lead. Fortunately, some late heroics from Ansgar Knauff and Erling Haaland saved a point for the black and yellows. After Frankfurt’s victory over Union Berlin, BVB now sit 4 points behind them in the race for the Champions League.

Here are our ratings from yesterday’s match:

Starting XI:

Marwin Hitz

Nick: 4

I don’t blame him for either of the goals, but if he wants to be in considerations for first-choice next season, he has to do better against shots like Jacobs’.

Steve: 4.5

Thomas Meunier

Nick: 1

Much in the same way great players can have an okay game but still make the game-winning goal or assist, bad players can have a meh day and still make the play that costs you everything. Thomas Meunier is a bad player, and today he made the play that cost us 3 points.

Steve: 3

Meunier’s error was abject. If he’s not good at defense, then what is he good for?

Emre Can

Nick: 6

Steve: 7

Emre Can had a beautiful assist to open the game, and then almost had another a few minutes later.

Mats Hummels

Nick: 3

He didn’t look himself today, and I think that is a product of niggling injuries and too many minutes logged this season.

Steve: 6

Our possession game struggled today, and you have to look at Hummels, who was also wearing the captain’s armband today. But the central defenders really didn’t give Köln anything. Their only two shots on goal were a handball penalty and a clear error from Meunier.

Nico Schulz

Nick: 4

Steve: 5

Schulz runs up and down the left flank and can generally be described as a football player.

Mahmoud Dahoud

Nick: 4

Worst performance from Dahoud in weeks. Terzic left him on an island in the midfield in the second half, but his passing and general awareness were worse than what I’ve come to expect from him.

Steve: 5

I think Dahoud does better in a more advanced role and we could have used Delaney’s solidity in the defensive midfield today. Being dispossessed three times and a pass accuracy around 80% isn’t good enough.

Jude Bellingham

Nick: 5

Steve: 4.5

Bellingham worked hard and tried to make things happen. Unfortunately, he made the wrong thing happen today when he hung his elbow out in the box. It was exactly the type of thing that defenders used to get away with before VAR.

Julian Brandt

Nick: 4

Brandt wasn’t good today, but his early substitution was unfortunate. He was never given the space to operate due to the teams lack of width in attack.

Steve: 3

Brandt might as well have not been there. The main thing I remember him doing in the first half is standing in front of teammates who had the ball. What is that?

Gio Reyna

Nick: 3

Playing Reyna on the wing is a bad idea. How many times must we learn this lesson?

Steve: 4

Reyna had one good moment at the beginning of the game when he got in behind and found Hazard with a cut back. After that he was completely anonymous.

Thorgan Hazard

Nick: 5

Steve: 5

Hazard wasn’t able to make an impact in the game today.

Erling Haaland

Nick: 8

Once again Haaland was Dortmund’s man of the match. He finished his first goal spectacularly and was well positioned for the second.

Steve: 9

If we’d won this game we’d probably be giving him a 10 again. He did miss a couple half chances, but it’s hard to complain about that when he also scored two goals that few strikers in the world would even be able to attempt.

Substitutes

Youssoufa Moukoko

Nick: 5

He looked great at times today, but was hampered with defensive responsibilities far too often due to an absent midfield behind him.

Steve: 5

Terzic’s instinct to go more direct with his in-game adjustments is frustrating. I don’t think it was the right choice to bring on Moukoko.

Reinier Jesus

Nick: 5

Steve: 5

I forgot he was in the game.

Ansgar Knauff

Nick: 7

Knauff isn’t an incredibly polished player yet but his speed and dribbling on the wing were exactly what Dortmund needed.

Steve: 7.5

The bright spot in the game, Knauff’s speed and incision were desperately needed. His two accurate crosses tied him for the team lead!

Manuel Akanji

N/A

Overall:

Nick: 3.5

A really gross performance overall. The midfield disappeared in the second half after the Moukoko substitution, and Eden Terzic did nothing to improve it. This game reminded me of the first few matches under Terzic, and quite frankly, I just want to go about the rest of my week pretending this didn’t happen.

Steve: 4.5

We got lucky with an amazing first goal, and then started playing like we’d already won something. Misplaced passes, aimless movement and general apathy all over the pitch. We didn’t control the game and we didn’t even look like we knew how to try. As soon as Köln started pressing us, we always looked like we were ready to make a mistake.