Match Ratings: Borussia Dortmund win the Derby, but Lose Their Skipper

On a Rainy Saturday evening, Borussia Dortmund welcomed Schalke back into the Westfalenstadion for the 99th Revierderby!

Dortmund controlled the match, but Schalke sat deep and defended with high discipline. The Black and Yellows had a tough time finding Modeste in the box, and around 20 minutes into the 2nd half, Terzic decided swap him with Moukoko. The Smurfs were clearly tired, and Moukoko broke the deadlock in the 79th minute with a fine header on a pinpoint cross from Marius Wolf. It was a bit of grind, but Die Schwarzgelben managed to claim a 1-0 victory with Moukoko being the youngest ever goalscorer in a Revierderby!

Here are our ratings!

Starting XI

Alexander Meyer

Joey: 7

He didn't really have to do anything in this match. No saves but he did earn a clean sheet. His communication with the defense could use some improvement.

Anders: 6

An easy day on the office for Meyer. He really didn’t have to save anything. Kinda lucky that he didn’t get a red though.

Yash: 6

Thomas Meunier

Joey: 6.5

Anders: 6

Another trivial display from Meunier. I thought he was actually pretty good at taking runs in the first half, and he at least tried to find Modeste inside the box.

Yash: 7

A solid performance throughout. Got involved going forward, and was a little unlucky not to get an assist.

Mats Hummels

Joey: 8

Hummels is a real leader in defense and his partnership with Schlotterbeck showcases that. With Reus out for the foreseeable future, he’ll be wearing the armband. Hummels could be recalled the the national team if he keeps this up.

Anders: 8

Yash: 8.5

When Hummels plays, the defense just looks better. A commanding presence.

Photo by Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Nico Schlotterbeck

Joey: 7

This is the consistent center back performance we’ve come to expect from Schlotti.

Anders: 7.5

Yash: 7.5

Play him next to Hummels, and we have a world class partnership at CB.

Marius Wolf

Joey: 8

Wolf offered much-needed creativity on the wing and his cross to Moukoko was stunning to say the least. At the start of this season I made the case for Wolf’s importance to this club as a sub. Now I think he should keep starting. #UnleashtheWolf

Anders: 7

Yash: 8

A candidate for MotM. His versatility and work rate are so important for this BVB side. Capped off a complete performance with a superb assist.

Jude Bellingham

Joey: 8

Kid’s got a bright future and this was his 100th game in Black and Yellow.

Anders: 8

I feel like I’m running into the same problem that I think many writers have had with Haaland in the past. There simply aren’t enough superlatives to describe how good Jude is. He is 100% Ballon D’or material for the future.

Yash: 8

Salih Özcan

Joey: 8.5

Oz had several key passes and was essential in Dortmund’s dictation of play through large portions of this game. Who decides a player’s market value, and how on earth did Köln let him go?

Anders: 8

Yash: 8

Looked good on the ball (though not as silky as Mo) and got stuck in defensively.

Julian Brandt

Joey: 7

I’m a fan of Brandt, so don’t get me wrong when I say that I’ve come to expect that each match we either get the world-class Brandt, or the confused, misfiring, terrible Brandt. Today he was actually somewhere in the middle. I’ll take it.

Anders: 6

A very bipolar display as we’ve come to expect by now. I don’t think Brandt contributed that much to our attacking play. He’s quite good at moving the ball around quickly, but it didn’t amount to much today.

Yash: 7

Got moved into the middle when Reus got injured and was very important as a ball-progressing option. Kept the play flowing and got involved defensively, chipping in with the second-most tackles and winning 100% of his duels.

Marco Reus

Joey: N/A

I choose not to rate Marco today. He’s been in amazing form and this injury blow comes at a terrible time for his National Team aspirations. We can only hope and pray that he returns to full health soon.

Edit: Looks like Reus will be out 3-4 Weeks

Anders: N/A

I’m not gonna lie - I was on the verge of crying. Get well soon skip!

Yash: N/A

Reus getting injured before a major tournament? Again? Why, god, why? Get well soon Cap!!

Donny Malen

Joey: 7

Promising signs from Malen. Glad to see him start.

Anders: 7

Malen was by far the most dangerous of our attacking players before he came of. He has the ability to create chances for himself, and you could feel that he was confident and ready to contribute. He didn’t get a goal or an assist, but that’ll come if he keeps this up.

Yash: 7

A scary first half from the Dutchman. He was absolutely untouchable and his change of pace left several defenders gasping for breath. While he did lack end product, this was a promising return to the XI.

Anthony Modeste

Joey: 4.5

I know that part of the problem is that Toni is a very aerial player and our squad is not good at crossing... But today, Modeste only had a dozen or so touches and half of those were inaccurate passes or shots off target. He’s got a great work ethic but things just weren't working today for the Frenchman.

Anders: 5

Many might not agree with this, but we’re neglecting him. We know how he plays, and we refuse to give him the service that he needs in order to work for us.

Yash: 5

I like Modeste. He seems like a great character, works incredibly hard, and his aerial ability offers us the chance to vary our attack. That said, we aren't a team that generates tons of crosses (or crossing opportunities, for that matter), and his lack of versatility meant that on a day where we looked to our centre-forward to provide something, he wasn't the one to provide it. He seems like a natural fit for games where the striker is used as a pressing forward, which begs the question: why did we sell Tigges?

Substitutes

Gio Reyna

Joey: 6.5

Gio’s not fully fit yet and we could see that when he subbed off. Gio came on for the injured Reus and he offered an attacking threat. Another day he would have scored that shot in the second half.

Anders: 6

You know... Not bad from my man, Gio. He’s slowly integrating back into this team, and I have the feeling that he’ll be a lot more important now that Capitano is out injured.

Yash: 6

Nice to see him finally getting back to fitness.

Karim Adeyemi

Joey: 7

Anders: 6.5

Man this guy is fast. With him and Donny in the starting XI, we’ll have get the goals and assists we need.

Yash: 7

Oof, this guy is hard to defend. I like that Terzić didn't play him and Donny together, because they have similar skillsets and don't complement each other particularly well.

Youssoufa Moukoko

Joey: 9

The young striker came on and became an immediate threat. Moukoko’s goal will make him a derby hero. Now’s the time to get this guy on a new contract... and maybe think about starting him.

Anders: 9

Man... He really transformed our offense when he came on. I feel like 9 is a bit much, but he honestly didn’t set a foot wrong after entering the pitch. Good at finding space, good in linkup play and good at jumping?

Yash: 8.5

The hard work he's put in is really showing; he's become much stronger and better off the ball. His goal was really impressive as well. I think he's a more natural fit for our system, and might be worth starting over Tony.

Emre Can: N/A

Thorgan Hazard: N/A

Overall

Joey: 8

When the derby starts, anything goes and team form is thrown out the window. I’m never sure what to expect... But maybe I should be? This was another mature defensive performance and the team’s 4th clean sheets out of 7 Bundesliga games. When was the last time Dortmund boasted that statistic? Each of those clean sheets was a 1-0 victory. So maybe this is what we should expect from an Edin Terzic Dortmund. I’m optimistic however, that the attacking threat will increase as Modeste finds his form or Moukoko steps up and certainly when Haller returns. If the defense can remain this consistent, then the goals will certainly catch up with time.

Anders: 7.5

Schalke are bad. I mean I hadn’t had a look at their teamsheet before the game kicked off, but they really look like a 2. Bundesliga team on paper. Nonetheless, we controlled the game and held The Smurfs to an xG of 0.1. Quite impressive no matter which side you play in the Bundesliga. I felt like we would get the goal today, and I honestly think that says a lot about how we’re currently taking on matches.

And: Get well soon, Marco.

Yash: 8

DERBYSIEGER DERBYSIEGER HEY! HEY!

Good performances all around, combined with a toothless Smurf attack made for a very comfortable 90 minutes. Despite Schwolow’s heroics in goal, it never really looked like the result was in doubt. Today's game will also bring up fresh selection questions: who replaces Reus? probably Brandt. Who should start at LB? No idea. At striker? Mouki definitely deserves a shot. On to the international break!

Do you agree with us?

Are we too harsh on Modeste? Are we being too nice to Julian Brandt? Let us know in the comments below!