Match Ratings: Borussia Dortmund Return to Bundesliga Action in the Most BVB Way Possible

Borussia Dortmund returned to action on Sunday after a two month layoff brought on by the World Cup and the winter break. Despite the break, they got right back to what they do best, scraping an unnecessarily close 4-3 win over relegation candidates Augsburg. BVB gifted Augsburg multiple chances to get back in the game, all of which Augsburg took. There was lots to enjoy from BVB’s offense, from a lovely opening goal from Jude Bellingham, to two great strikes from young subs Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Gio Reyna. However, there was also plenty of dumb errors from the entire team in defense. It was a very, very BVB performance.

The best moment of the game, however, was definitely Sebastien Haller’s return to competitive football, six months after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. Haller’s recovery has been a great bit of news over the last few weeks, and for both football and personal reason, I’m sure everybody is very excited to see Haller start to make major contributions to BVB’s quest to outdo their own stupidity over the remainder of the season.

Anyway, here’s our ratings from Sunday’s weird win against Augsburg:

Starting XI

Gregor Kobel

Paul: 6

Joey: 5

Greg didn’t do anything special in this match. He opted to play his goal kicks short too many times and was punished when Schlotti fumbled the ball on the receiving end of one of these passes.

Yash: 6

Julian Ryerson

Paul: 5

Was pretty lively, but some of his passing was a bit wayward. He played Demirovic onside for the second goal. Didn’t do brilliantly trying to keep it out either, though that part felt more like bad luck than a mistake.

Joey: 6

Yash: 5.5

Nico Schlotterbeck

Paul: 4

Made up for his first mistake by scoring Dortmund’s second, but was poor on defense all game long.

Joey: 5

Great header for the second goal but poor defensive performance overall. I don’t fully blame Nico however, as he was frequently covering for Guerrero’s defensive lapses.

Yash: 4.5

Mats Hummels

Paul: 5

Joey: 6

If I didn’t know better, I’d say Mats was playing in the offense yesterday with his five or so shots. His challenges left much to be desired, but his passing was accurate.

Yash: 6

Should we be playing him up front?!

Rapha Guerreiro

Paul: 4

Joey: 4

It’s great when a wingback can make positive contributions in the final third while still closing down their wing on defense. Too bad this doesn't describe Rapha.

Yash: 5

I liked his offensive movement, but he didn’t seem to be getting much support from the wingers. Defensively, a bit of a horror show.

Salih Özcan

Paul: 3

Özcan had a poor game, including having a big hand in both of Augsburg’s first two goals. He did very little to redeem himself.

Joey: 5

Yash: 4

Didn’t impose himself defensively and could be at least partially blamed for the first two Augsburg goals. Thankfully, Mo is back.

Jude Bellingham

Paul: 8

Poor header to gift Augsburg the ball on the play that led to Augsburg’s second. Otherwise I thought Bellingham was easily BVB’s best player.

His opening goal was lovely, and when Dortmund seemed to run out of ideas early in the second half, he was the player really pushing the pace and trying to find some sort of spark.

Joey: 7

Yash: 7

Jude’s ball-carrying ability and grit were on full display yesterday as he completed the most dribbles and won the most duels of any player on the pitch. Grabbed himself a goal and an assist, too. I think he could have done better with the first two Augsburg goals, but so could the entirety of our defensive line.

Julian Brandt

Paul: 7

Joey: 8

This was another great performance from Brandt. He had several key touches and was vital in Dortmund’s attacking play. I really appreciate the effort from this guy.

Yash: 8.5

Excellent yet again. Made several key passes and made sure our offense did not miss a beat. His ability to just glide through opposition lines seemingly effortlessly is just incredible to watch. Definitely unlucky not to have gotten a second (or even third) assist, as Mouki missed a sitter and Hummels headed straight at Gikiewicz.

Karim Adeyemi

Paul: 6

Joey: 6

I wish I had more confidence in Adeyemi. He’s great at dribbling in a straight line, but he offered little in attacking threat from the wing. He did have a nice contribution to Bellingham’s opening goal.

Yash: 6

Donyell Malen

Paul: 5

Joey: 4

This was an underwhelming display consistent with Donny’s Hindrunde performances. I’ve learned not to get my hopes up after the Dutchman impresses in the off-season friendlies.

Yash: 5

Unlucky to be denied a goal by a combination of a last-ditch tackle and the crossbar. Quiet otherwise.

Youssoufa Moukoko

Paul: 5

Joey: 5

I expected better from the young German after he signed a big-money contract extension last week.

Yash: 3

Poor off the ball, poor on it. Missed a sitter. One to forget for Mouki.

Substitutes

Sebastien Haller

Photo by Edith Geuppert - GES Sportfoto/Getty Images

Paul: 7

I mean, Haller’s performance on the pitch really isn’t what is important here. The fact he was on the pitch at all, just 188 days after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, is fantastic. He could have been garbage and I don’t think anyone would have complained.

That said, I thought Haller played really well when he came on. He was linking up well and he got into a number of good positions. Possibly could have got himself on the scoresheet late in the game, but unfortunately kids (Reyna and then JBG) are silly and selfish sometimes.

Joey: 9

The fact that he played yesterday at all is part of why I’ve rated Haller so highly. I didn’t expect we’d see him play until at least March-April. Sebastien’s motivation to get back on the pitch will surely spark love from the fans. Cheers to many more matched in Black and Yellow!

Yash: 9

Haller is back!! His fighting spirit off the pitch has captured all our hearts, and he isn’t half bad on the pitch either! Looked combative in the air, good in combination, and intelligent off the ball. Should have had a goal or two late on, but neither Gio nor JBG displayed the slightest inclination to pass.

Jamie Bynoe-Gittens

Paul: 7

Joey: 7

JBG is back and ready to leave his mark!

Yash: 6

Incredible goal but definitely needs to look up more and move better off the ball.

Gio Reyna

Paul: 7

Joey: 7

Gil made an immediate impact when introduced, and he scored a stunning winner.

Yash: 6.5

Scored the winner and looked really threatening. His inexplicable decision to not pass to Haller is the only blot on his cameo.

Overall

Paul: 6

I don’t really know how to rate the performance overall. There were some flashes of brilliance, but there was also a lot of really dumb shit going on too. I thought we were pretty atrocious defensively, but we looked solid going forward. I guess that is reflected in my ratings too.

Joey: 6

Yesterday we were lucky that our attack was strong enough to compensate for the abysmal defending. I think Dortmund will continue to struggle playing Malen and Adeyemi on the wings; this was too reminiscent of games earlier this season. With players like Dahoud, JBG, Reyna, Reus, Wolf and Dahoud all presumably fit, and a heavy match congestion, I imagine the starting XI will change in the coming weeks. Something clearly isn't working in the defense, despite having a talented trio of center backs. Hopefully Terzic will address these issues before the match in Mainz on Wednesday. At the end of the day, Dortmund provided an exciting match and I’m happy we’ve won it.

Yash: 6

It was a long two months waiting for our beloved black and yellows to return, and, boy, did they deliver! Undoubtedly the most “Dortmund” performance possible, as we attacked well enough and defended awfully (the only thing missing was conceding off a corner, but I’m sure we’ll do that in the coming weeks). The attack probably needs some tweaking and the defending was abysmal, but our individual quality paid off in the end. Brandt and Bellingham continued to dazzle as they have all season, and we got a glimpse of our record signing as well! Having Mo, Reus, Gio and Wolf back fit is massive too. Terzic will need the squad depth as the season heats up once more. Onwards!