Borussia Dortmund have the pleasure of facing RB Leipzig twice in one week, with both games being of huge importance to the season. Yesterday’s clash against Leipzig was vital for BVB’s hopes of claiming Champions League football next season. Despite some hiccups, they came away with all three points, and are now, thanks to Frankfurt’s draw with Mainz, in the driving seat. The second game against RB Leipzig will be on Thursday, in the DFB Pokal final. Can BVB go two for two against the East German side? I hope so!

Here are our player ratings for yesterday’s game:

Starting XI

Marwin Hitz

Paul: 6

It’s a shame to see that Hitz is likely done for the season. Hopefully he’ll be back to business next season.

Sarah: 6

Łukasz Piszczek

Paul: 7

He is an ageless wonder. He led the game for ball progression, contributing a total of nine progressive passes and seven progressive carries. Maybe he can be persuaded to stay just one more year?

Sarah: 10

I don’t need to rationalize or defend this to anyone. He’s Łukasz “freaking” Piszczek.

Manuel Akanji

Paul: 6

Sarah: 6

Mats Hummels

Paul: 5

Sarah: 4

Is this rating a bit much? Perhaps. But that is what I expect from Hummels based on the standard he sets for himself. His early slip made us all hold our breath as it is not the type of mistake one associates with such a solid and reliable defender.

Raphael Guerreiro

Paul: 7

Guerreiro linked up really well with Sancho, providing the assist for both of his goals.

Sarah: 7.5

As Paul mentioned, those assists are reason enough for a high rating, and I’m throwing in a bonus half point for his defensive work against Benjamin Henrichs.

Mo Dahoud

Paul: 8

Sarah: 7.5

Dahoud was revealed to be the proverbial puppet master in the match for Dortmund as the team seemed almost unrecognizable after he was subbed out. He struck the balance between attacking and defensive play and he also managed to squeeze in one of his signature longshot attempts. This man deserves a call-up to Die Mannschaft for the Euros!

Emre Can

Paul: 6

Sarah: 6

My man Can...he was looking pretty good, until his lack of focus against Lukas Klostermann resulted in the first Leipzig goal, bringing us all crashing back to reality.

Thorgan Hazard

Paul: 7

Sarah: 7

I enjoyed Hazard’s performance in the match. That lovely assist to Reus to open the scoring was something to behold. Am I the only one who rewatched that like, a dozen times? Beyond that, he worked very hard during his shift.

Gio Reyna

Paul: 5

Sarah: 5

Jadon Sancho

Photo by Martin Meissner - Pool/Getty Images

Paul: 9

He was the best player on the pitch, and at times was virtually unplayable. On top of his two goals, Sancho contributed more progressive carries than anyone else on the pitch (11), and was joint second for shot-creating actions (5). When Sancho is at his best (which is often), he really makes this team tick.

Sarah: 9

I am becoming almost as obsessed with his play as I am with his post-match interviews. He was just stellar whenever he was on the ball and as many of us feared a tie as the outcome, he delivered a winning goal for us all. Please be sure you make your offerings to the Fußball gods if you have not done so already.

Marco Reus

Paul: 8

A goal and a whopping seven shot-creating actions. The captain led by example yesterday.

Sarah: 7.5

Netting that opening goal for Dortmund was massive and really seemed to help maintain confidence levels among the squad. While his play diminished after the half, his form was quality.

Substitutes

Roman Bürki

Paul: 6

Sarah: 5.5

Thomas Delaney

Paul: 6

Sarah: 5.5

Arguably the biggest disappointment of the match, he came on for Dahoud and failed to contribute anything of note.

Julian Brandt

Paul: 7

Sarah: 7

What a delightful show from Brandt. His interaction with Reus was promising and soon after he setup Sancho’s winner, allowing BVB fans everywhere to breathe a sigh of relief.

Ansgar Knauff

N/A

Overall

Paul: 7

Despite an extremely dumb moment or two, BVB were in control for the majority of the game. Yes, they made it far harder for themselves by going to sleep midway through the second half, but they also dug themselves out of that hole. That is surely a psychological victory too, ahead of the DFB Pokal final, because BVB showed their opponents (and themselves) that as long as BVB are switched on, they can control and win the game. Hopefully they prove that point again on Thursday.

Sarah: 6.75

Admittedly, I’m being a bit obnoxious with my rating here, but that’s because I have mixed feelings about the match. Everyone knew what was riding on securing a victory after 90 minutes and while the first half had us all feeling elated, the second half was sobering. Yes, a win is a win; there were really some fine performances from the Jungs. However, it would be nice to see a game where the team doesn’t flirt with implosion.