Man of the Match Poll: Dortmund Lay Goose Egg Against Wolfsburg

It’s on days like these when I question the sense of having a Man of the Match poll at the end of every game. When Borussia Dortmund lay a big, fat, steaming turd on your plate in front of you, the last thing you want to do is ask yourself, “But what are the most positive attributes of this turd?”

Okay, I might be exaggerating somewhat. BVB did create a few chances here and there over the course of 90 minutes today, but they just couldn’t find the golden one that would bring them the equalizer.

So whichever player was the Man of the Match might not be what anyone wants to talk about, but we are creatures of habit at Fear the Wall so the show must go on. Here are our candidates for Man of the Match:

Niklas Süle

Süle was arguably BVB’s best defender today. He won his fair share of tackles, blocked plenty of shots, and also showed that he can be a potent offensive threat. He created a few solid chances including a well-taken shot in the first half that flashed narrowly wide. Süle’s performances at right back have been a bright light in a dark sea of mediocrity from his squad mates lately.

Donyell Malen

Malen doesn’t have to do much for his performance to count as “progress” these days, but there were a few moments in the first half where he did look legitimately dangerous. He still needs to learn some other move besides cutting in and shooting near-post, because goalies have obviously zeroed in on it.

Gregor Kobel

He made five saves, including a few from close range on Lucas Nmecha, and neither goal against was his fault. BVB’s defense generally did a poor job stopping Wolfsburg from getting off shot attempts, so Kobel was busy all game.

Julian Brandt

Yash keeps advocating for Brandt’s inclusion on this list in our group chat, so here you go. He apparently had nine (9!) key passes, while no other player on either side had more than three. I guess he also slipped on his f—king a— to hand Wolfsburg their second goal, but hey, the good comes with the bad.