Match Ratings: Borussia Dortmund Puts the Hype Train on an Eye-Opening Halt after a 3-2 Defeat to Werder Bremen

Despite getting dominated by Werder Bremen for a majority of the match yesterday, Borussia Dortmund somehow went into the dying moments of the game with a two-goal advantage. But with injury time approaching, Dortmund's fortunes ended in dramatic fashion, with Werder Bremen reeling off an iconic three goal come back to defeat an abysmal Die Schwarzgelben.

This team has a lot of work to do this season to reach the goals they want to achieve. This game was a massive indicator of the progress that needs to be seen in this new and overhauled squad. It was three points absolutely squandered. After going 2-0 up, Borussia Dortmund redefines losing in unfeasible fashion.

Starting XI

Gregor Kobel

Oliver: 6

Gregor Kobel had some fantastic moments yesterday despite the three goals conceded. The blame certainly does not fall onto his shoulders.

Yash: 5

Left a gaping hole at the near post for Bremen’s third. Otherwise outstanding.

Sarah: 7

Kobel was an embodiment of a wall even though the ball found the back of his net three times. He’s one man and can only do so much.

Mats Hummels

Oliver: 5

Yesterday was a very average display for the veteran. Hummels made few mistakes yesterday and was positioned very well throughout the game but didn’t really offer anything spectacular from the back.

Yash: 6

Sarah: 5

When compared to his teammates, his performance was, perhaps, the okayest. He struggled, but he didn’t make things worse.

Nico Schlotterbeck

Oliver: 7

Nico has by far been the best signing of the off-season. He made some spectacular tackles and brings physicality that is lacking in this side. But Nico Schlotterbeck can only do so much when the rest of his squad doesn’t provide him any defensive support.

Yash: 6.5

Sarah: 6.5

Nico made several key saves that allowed BVB fans to feel “pretty good” for about 95% of the match.

Marius Wolf

Oliver: 4

After the highs of last week Marius Wolf this week was incredibly underwhelming. Wolf lost possession in dangerous positions at times and did not offer anything going forward like he did last week. It was a day to forget for Marius Wolf yesterday along with the rest of the squad.

Yash: 6.5

One of the few players who showed real commitment. Offered little to nothing offensively, but got stuck in defensively.

Sarah: 3

I share the same consensus as some on Twitter that doing well off the bench does not always translate to success as a starter. Wolf looked more like prey than predator.

Raphaël Guerreiro

Oliver: 5

Yes, there was a massive moment of brilliance with that absolutely cracking hit from the top of the box but that was almost all Guerreiro offered yesterday. Rapha was subpar in defense and got caught out being too high up as usual.

Yash: 5.5

Sarah: 6

Man, I really want to rate him higher because his goal was simply masterclass, but too many defensive gaffes force me to issue a lower rating.

Mahmoud Dahoud

N/A

Jude Bellingham

Oliver: 6

Jude Bellingham over the past season has arguably been Dortmund’s best player but yesterday it seemed as if he was just overran in the midfield. The main fault yesterday was Jude getting dispossessed towards at the end of time which ultimately led to Bremen’s third and decisive goal.

Yash: 6

A much-improved performance after below-par showings in the first two matchdays. Just a shame it happened yesterday when almost no one else seemed to want to make anything happen.

Sarah: 5

Marco Reus

Oliver: 6

Marco Reus did not have much help going forward from the rest of his teammates. Yesterday was honestly a flat day for Marco and the rest of the front line where there was no real creativity nor directness from the side. With that Marco did cheaply play a hand in the final third by providing the set up for both goals.

Yash: 6

Like Modeste and Brandt, he received nothing in the way of support, and was forced to drop ever deeper after Dahoud’s injury. Picked up two rather Busquets-esque assists, though, and that should count for something, right?

Sarah: 5

Jamie Bynoe-Gittens

Oliver: 3

With the limited times we have seen JBG play he has been silky and quick. But yesterday he showed that he has still yet to be more composed and deciding when or when not to dribble and take on opponents.

Yash: 1.5

I gave Hazard a 2 last week. JBG was (somehow) worse than him. Aside from actively harming the team’s attacking prospects, he probably should have picked up a yellow for accumulation. Godawful.

Sarah: 5

Julian Brandt

Oliver: 4

He has such a great ability creatively and technically but his constant inconsistency to show these qualities are what holds him back regardless of the great goal he did score.

Yash: 5

Scored an absolute screamer, but was largely anonymous in the first half. Subbed off too early in my opinion, as I think he would have combined well with Guerreiro.

Sarah: 4.5

Yes, he scored that stormer of a goal right before the half but that was one moment out of countless where he bobbled and blundered his way over the pitch.

Anthony Modeste

Oliver: 1

We may as well have played with ten men and no striker. Modeste was nowhere to be found in the front line. Yes it’s understood that he has a certain skillset but he offered close to nothing going forward. For the life of me I can’t remember if he even touched the ball in the final third or even at all.

Yash: 3

He was on the pitch??! In all seriousness, he received no support whatsoever, and picked up an undeserved yellow. More sinned-against than a sinner, as the cliché goes.

Sarah: 4

If Modeste hadn’t nailed the Bremen keeper in the face, I would have forgotten he was on the pitch.

Substitutions

Emre Can

Oliver: 1

If I could give a player a negative rating I would. Emre Can needs to be sold and yesterday was further evidence of that.

Yash: 1.5

Emre joins JBG, hanging precariously above a 1 by his fingernails. A shocking performance and a confusing substitution, given that Özcan was FULLY FIT. Curious to see whether he’ll still be playing in black and yellow come January.

Sarah: N/A

If I can’t say anything nice about my man, Emre, I won’t say anything at all.

Niklas Süle

N/A

Gio Reyna

N/A

Thorgan Hazard

N/A

Yash: 6

Got involved and nearly scored. If Gio can stay fit, his days are definitely numbered, though.

Youssoufa Moukoko

N/A

Overall

Oliver: 3

For the majority of the 90 minutes Werder Bremen were shockingly the far better side. With that being said no team especially title hopefuls should be conceding three goals in a five minute span when up 2-0. The front line could not get anything going forward and was very disconnected from the midfield. Yesterday the attack was as threatening as a teddybear. The only positive I can take away from this match is our ability to be clinical in the final third.

Through the first three games it’s clear to see that Dortmund has a lot of work to do and lot of chemistry to build. The black and yellows have a long way to go before they can reach the heights we want to see them achieve as a squad. This squad needs to use this match as a wake up call to realize just how much progress needs to be made for this team even be considered anything close to a title contender. However, I am very hopeful to see where this team goes and how they will look as a squad when at full strength and working cohesively together.

Yash: 2.5

Sarah’s right. For large parts of the game, Bremen’s interesting sartorial choice was the only thing worth paying attention to on the pitch. However, yesterday showed us nothing new; BVB are still largely disjointed and insipid, Terzić is clearly still figuring out his tactics and how substitutions work, and Dahoud is the (enormously underappreciated) glue that holds a lot of the mess together. The only difference this time? We were punished for it. In my match ratings post the 1860 Munich game, I’d said that we aren’t out of the woods yet, and there’s clearly a long way to go, but this is a long process; the management and playing squad overhaul plus a shortened pre-season did not bode well for the immediate future, and the fact that we’ve scraped two wins from three is actually not so bad.

Our terrible performance notwithstanding, I think Bremen were very good and Ole Werner’s side might have an outside shout for a Conference League place if they can keep their core fit and firing. Good for them.

Sarah: 4.5

Imma be real here, for the first half, it was difficult to pay much attention because the play was lackluster and I was too easily distracted by other things (those melon colored Bremen jerseys...). I think I was literally sitting in silence until Brandt scored. The play was sloppy, unremarkable, unimaginative. Once some of the subs came on and Rapha scored in the second half, the vibe seemed to pick up. Alas, that was short-lived and things looked increasingly dicey until BVB’s self-imposed implosion in the 88th minute. What I want to know is, who decided to hit the self-destruct button?