Match Ratings: Borussia Dortmund Beat FC København 3-0 in Convincing Fashion

Borussia Dortmund collected three points and a clean sheet in their first Champions League match of the season. With three points, Dortmund are currently at the top of the table together with Manchester City, who steamrolled a struggling Sevilla side 4-0. Some big Norwegian dude scored two goals that game - he seems pretty decent to be honest.

In Dortmund, Edin Terzic’s men were firmly in control for the entire game and didn’t allow København any major chances at scoring. According the the official stats from the UEFA, København had zero runs into the penalty area, which proves how disciplined Dortmund were in their organization.

Here are the ratings from a great performance on tuesday evening.

Starting XI

Alexander Meyer

Anders: 6

Not much to do for our debutant in goal. I’m always very happy with these stories, as his former club Regensburg currently sits 13th in the 2. Bundesliga, while he was having his first ever Champions League match. Had a couple of decent saves.

Joey: 7

Decent couple of saves. Clean Sheet. Meyer made me nervous with how far out of the box he came on numerous occasions, but he never looked uncomfortable sweeping. With Kobel likely out the next few games, I’m glad to have gained a little confidence in Meyer’s shot-stopping ability.

Niklas Süle

Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images

Anders: 8

I clearly see why Bayern fans were kinda pissed that the Bayern board treated Big Fridge Süle badly, eventually leading to him wanting a transfer. But you know what they say! One man’s very good player is another man’s very good player!

In my eyes, Süle is the embodiment of a complete defender. He’s fast, he’s technically gifted, and he’s proactive on the ball, while being a top-class defender. I love his forward ventures, and I hope he can continue doing them as confidently as he did today. His partnership with Schlottigott seemed to work tremendously as well.

Joey: 8

Niklas Sule hasn't looked his best thus far in Black and Yellow, but tonight’s performance highlighted his quality in the back. It was his steal, subsequent dribble and pass that started the attack which lead to the first goal. If he can stay fit, I think Sule will prove to be a vital summer signing.

Nico Schlotterbeck

Anders: 7.5

Having two ball-playing defenders is so fun to watch, honestly. I’m slowly but surely becoming the biggest Schlotterbeck fanboy, and I won’t apologize for it. Very assured in defense, great long balls and started the move for the beautiful team goal scored by Jude Bellingham.

Joey: 7.5

Schlotterbeck has quickly become one of Dortmund’s most consistent players. Nothing more to add.

Thomas Meunier

Anders: 5

Meunier was one of the few, who in my eyes were very lackluster. He didn’t do anything horrible, but he basically just acted as a play station for the wide area with some eventual crosses that were very mixed in quality.

Joey: 6

Meunier defended well and had a couple of decent dribbles, but his crossing today was sub-par. Consistency is something Meunier needs to work on.

Raphael Guerreiro

Anders: 7.5

I think Guerreiro was probably a bit better than I think people will credit him for. He got a bit stuck in today, and honestly it suits him. Our small man absolutely bodied Carlos Zeca to create a play that eventually ended up being a tap in for himself. He was good at finding the right spaces today, and he was rewarded accordingly with a goal.

Joey: 7

I’m a fan of Guerreiro in this wing back position. A small guy moving under the radar can make a big difference.

Salih Özcan

Anders: 7

Bruh... This was an absolute bargain of a transfer. So far Özcan seems very consistent in his performances, He did lose the ball a couple of times, but he was very good at recovering a bunch of those himself. Our martial arts midfield man will surely be instrumental for us going forward.

Joey: 7

Özcan had a solid performance and helped Dortmund maintain the Lion’s share of possession. He’s again showing what a bargain his signature was.

Jude Bellingham

Anders: 8.5

I swear I’m still surprised, everytime I realize that this kid is still not 20 years old.

Looking at Jude’s heatmap really was a confirmation of just how good he was. While Süle has a complete defensive package, Jude is slowly building up his repertoire for the “complete midfielder package”.

Only Süle (110) had more touches than Jude (104), and he still managed to retain a passing accuracy of 86% in his forward role. He dribbled, he tackled and he eventually scored a very good goal. He also got to wear the captain’s armband - very wholesome surprise.

Joey: 8.5

Bellingham continues to be Dortmund’s midfield talisman and today he was rewarded with a goal. He was involved all over the pitch and showed his maturity today.

Marco Reus

Anders: 8

He broke Vavro’s legs for the first goal, which honestly gave me flashbacks to young Marco Reus. Our captain is in inspired form this season, and he honestly deserves the world at this point. Good at moving the play forward as always and combined well with his teammates.

Joey: 8

O Captain! My Captain!

Julian Brandt

Anders: 8

I gave Brandt a seven against Hoffenheim, and today he did even better. If you look at the post-match content from the Hoffenheim match on BVB’s Youtube Channel, you’ll find a very short but interesting interview with Marco Reus, where he speaks a bit about “Jule”.

He emphasizes the fact that Brandt almost solely plays football on instinct and intuition. If you have watched just a bit of Julian Brandt, you’ll know exactly what our captain is talking about. Brandt always seems to know what to do with the ball before he gets it, and if you have watched his passing patterns, you’ll clearly see that they are a bit unconventional, but smart.

Reus speaks about the fact that you have to know how he plays (and thinks) in order to be successful with him. This may seem obvious, but Julian Brandt is not a conventional footballer.

Today he was in in full flow, and I think it’s because the team is starting to really identify how instinctive his play is. This allows the team to make the correct runs and get the best out of a - in theory - very exciting player.

Joey: 7.5

Brandt has been on a fine run of form. He continued that today, save a few wild shots. Brandt has received some criticism in the past for his inconsistency, but perhaps Terzic has sparked something within the German. If he keeps this up, I think Brandt will wind his way into the German World Cup squad.

Thorgan Hazard

Anders: 4

I’m honestly a bit worried about Hazard. I know he was subbed off early, but he has been - sorry to say - horrible so far this season. He doesn’t seem motivated at all, and he hasn’t produced anything of note in any of his appearances. Hope he can find his way back somehow.

Joey: 5

Hazard subbed off early but he lacked creativity while on the pitch. Hopefully the muscular injury isn't too bad.

Anthony Modeste

Anders: 5

Not a very convincing display from Modeste. He squandered some decent chances, but at the same time, the team didn’t give him a whole lot to work with, and he seemed frustrated. The squad is clearly still adjusting to having a classic no. 9 in front, and I hope he won’t get neglected as much as the season moves on.

Joey: 6

Modeste did a good job to involve himself in the attack, but he flubbed the few decent chances he had. Toni still needs time to find his rhythm with this squad.

Substitutions

Gio Reyna

Photo by Marcel ter Bals/Orange Pictures/BSR Agency/Getty Images

Anders: 8

Oh boy, oh boy! Gio is back, and this time he didn’t break! Was actually kinda invisible for the first 15 minutes or so, but he really clawed himself into the game and earned two assists as a result.

He has been gone so long, that I almost forgot how talented he actually is. A real breath of fresh air to this team.

Joey: 8.5

Gio played nearly 70 minutes and they were brilliant to watch. The ‘American Dream’ as Erling Haaland once called him, showed exactly why Americans should be excited by this kid.

Youssoufa Moukoko

Anders: 5

Moukoko really didn’t do a whole lot, as he only had seven touches. He did show some promise with the ball at his feet, but didn’t do anything of real note.

Oh wait... he did actually do something. He robbed Brandt of a goal. Quite immature, but luckily the game was already over by then.

Joey: 6

I really want to root for Moukoko but he hasn't yet shown the quality that many fans know he’s capable of. He had a couple of decent passes but like Anders said, that miss near the end was atrocious.

Emre Can

Anders: 6

Can was “just a player” today. He did fine. He didn’t get a red card or got dispossessed for a turnover, and for that, I am very happy.

Joey: 6.5

He didn't get a card, so that’s something.

Tom Rothe

N/A

Marius Wolf

N/A

Overall

Anders: 8.5

A very convincing display, I must say! Almost all of our players got some time to shine, and even though København isn’t the best team, they are still a team that qualified for the Champions League. Dortmund were firmly in control for the entire match, and they almost didn’t leave anything to chance.

I would like to see us control games like this against weaker oppositions way more, as it’s something that we haven’t really been able to do too much for the past couple of years. I feel like we’re making progress with each game this season, and let us just hope, that this snowball will continue to roll.

Joey: 8

I think this was the most comprehensive win we’ve seen this season. Terzic has been working on the defense and it shows here with another clean sheet. We got a bit lucky not conceding in the tail end of this match but this Dortmund side again showed their maturity. No BVB player was shown a card, our defense limited København to just five shots, and our midfield controlled major portions of this match. 3-0 is a deserved result for Dortmund.

Your Thoughts?

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