Match Ratings: Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League Dreams Fade in Loss to Eintracht Frankfurt

Borussia Dortmund went into yesterday’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt knowing that they needed to get something from the game to stand a chance at qualifying for next season’s Champions League. They failed to do that, losing 2-1 through a Schulz own goal in the first half and an Andre Silva winner in the second half. BVB did briefly show signs of getting back into the game, with Hummels drawing level before the break, but in the end they simply weren’t good enough.

Here are our ratings from yesterday’s match:

Starting XI

Marwin Hitz

Paul: 5

Sean M: 5

Meh. Hitz doesn’t have the athleticism to save Nico Schulz from himself. Made a few routine saves but not a lot else. His distribution wasn’t the best, but his teammates didn’t help him out much either.

Sean K: 5

Emre Can

Paul: 6

Let himself down with his efforts in and around the box, skying several shots that could have been a lot more dangerous, but I thought he was solid otherwise.

Sean M: 6.5

After Can played 90 minutes in each of Germany’s World Cup qualifiers, I was surprised to see him starting. The team would have been in deep trouble without him, so I’m glad I was wrong. For not being a natural right back he did a great job on a talented winger. In the dumpster fire that was this BVB performance, he was my MOTM.

Sean K: 5.5

I would have preferred to see Mateu Morey start at RB and Can either on the bench or in midfield. He takes needlessly risky passes across the face of goal, and there were a few yesterday that almost turned the ball over in dangerous areas.

Manuel Akanji

Paul: 6

Sean M: 6

Sean K: 6

Mats Hummels

Paul: 7

Sean M: 5.5

Hummels showed great determination to score BVB’s lone goal at the end of the first half. However he almost gave up a penalty and was lucky to get away with a risky tackle just outside of the box on Younes.

Sean K: 6

Nico Schulz

Paul: 4

Sean M: 3

I am starting to wonder if Nico Schulz knows he plays for Dortmund. Seriously, he does more to help the opposition than his own team. The own goal will get the attention, but he also had at least two costly turnovers that led to scoring chances for Frankfurt. I don’t care how much his transfer fee was, he needs to be dropped. Start Passlack the last few matches and see if he really is worth bringing back as a depth option.

Sean K: 4

I understand what Terzic was trying to accomplish with Guerreiro playing in an advanced position and a more defensive-minded player at left back. Unfortunately, Schulz isn’t any good in this role either.

Thomas Delaney

Paul: 5

Sean M: 5

Like a few of BVB’s internationals, Delaney looked exhausted. His passes weren’t as crisp as they usually are and he wasn’t winning the ball with conviction like we’ve become accustomed to.

Sean K: 5

Amin Younes completely bossed him until, fortunately for Delaney, he needed to be subbed off because of an injury.

Jude Bellingham

Photo by Friedemann Vogel - Pool/Getty Images

Paul: 7

Continues to be one of Borussia Dortmund’s best players week-in, week-out. How long will it be before he is the first name on the team sheet?

Sean M: 6

Why was he taken off for Dahoud?!?! Don’t get me wrong, Dahoud needed to be put into this game, but taking off the most active midfielder? I thought he seemed a little overzealous in the attacking third when he was on the pitch, but then I realized why he was playing that way when he was removed.

Sean K: 7

Terzic probably subbed off Jude because he wants him to be ready to play the full 90 minutes against Manchester City. He was Dortmund’s best player when he was actually on the pitch.

Rapha Guerreiro

Paul: 6

Sean M: 5

I’ve wanted to see Guerreiro play centrally for a while now. Guess I was wrong. Maybe he isn’t fully recovered from his recent injury, so I won’t totally go off on him.

Sean K: 6

Marco Reus

Paul: 6

Sean M: 5

Like Guerreiro, Reus looked totally out of gas. With Sancho still injured he had to start this game. Marco probably could have used some more time to recover from that horrendous tackle he suffered against BSC, but the team needed him yesterday so he played. I love the guy, but perhaps missing the Euros wouldn’t be the worst thing for him. His legs could surely use the rest.

Sean K: 6

Thorgan Hazard

Paul: 5

I though Hazard was far too wasteful, and looked a little rusty. We really need more from Hazard, especially with Sancho out.

Sean M: 4

His wasteful passing ended at least three promising attacking movements. He did have one nice threaded pass to Haaland in the first half but that was about it. He played in two of Belgium’s World Cup qualifiers during the break so his lack of focus may have been due to fatigue as well. Either way, it wasn’t good enough.

Sean K: 5

Erling Haaland

Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images

Paul: 6

Sean M: 5

When the focal point of your offense returns from international duty exhausted, he isn’t able to pull the rabbit out of the hat and save your ass for the umpteenth time. I would have liked to see him shoot with his right foot off of the Hazard pass in the first half. Sometimes I feel like Haaland relies too heavily on his left, but then again if I had his left foot I’d always want to shoot with that as well. He also had the chance to pass to Reus in the first half that would have led to a nice scoring opportunity. But after three goalless games with Norway, I think he may have been pressing a bit to get back onto the score sheet.

Sean K: 5

Haaland had a few shots in dangerous areas, but dragged them all wide.

Substitutes

Mahmoud Dahoud

Paul: 6

Sean M: 6

Gave the team a spark when he entered in the second half. Had a few nice interceptions and advanced the ball forward well. But, like the rest of his teammates, he wasn’t able to find his touch on the final pass. He should have started this match, full stop.

Sean K: 6

Ansgar Knauff

N/A

Gio Reyna

N/A

Reinier

N/A

Overall

Paul: 3

I’m sick of having to come up with a rating for players that were just incredibly average all game long. Several of these players were virtually absent the entire game, and virtually everyone has put in more than one of these performances throughout the season. BVB have only themselves to blame for missing out on the Champions League. Congratulations to Frankfurt. They deserved the win, and they deserve a spot in the premier competition in European football. BVB need to find a lot more fight, especially in games like this.

Sean M: 4

In a must-win match, BVB once again could not deliver. I am so ready for this season to end. Dortmund needs to hit on their transfers over the summer, if not they could turn into Werder Bremen before you know it.

Sean K: 3

On its own, a 2-1 defeat against a strong opponent like Eintracht Frankfurt isn’t the end of the world, but when the result of the game decides whether or not your team qualifies for the Champions League, it becomes much more disastrous. BVB started slow and were way too wasteful in the dozens of odd-man situations they created.