Match Ratings: Dortmund Beat Bremen 1-0 at Home

Despite the 1-0 scoreline, Borussia Dortmund demolished Werder Bremen at home on Friday. Terzic’s side dominated the ball and created chance after chance. By the time the dust settled, Dortmund had 23 total shots, 4 big chances, and an xG of 2.69 compared to Bremen’s 5 shots and 1 big chance. Lots of Dortmund players played well, especially in midfield as Nmecha, Can, and Brandt dominated the tempo of the game. The contingent of international players who were coming back from the United States, Mats Hummels, Julian Brandt, and even Giovanni Reyna, all looked sharp despite the travel.

Here are our ratings from the match.

Starting XI

Gregor Kobel

Paul: 5

I am pleased to report that Gregor Kobel didn’t have to work especially hard for his clean sheet.

Joey: 6

Greg made a big save when he needed to.

Patrick: 7

Look - Kobel didn’t have to do much and Bremen looked toothless for long stretches of the game but he made a huge save around the 80th minute to hold Dortmund’s lead. It served as a reminder of his quality and that Dortmund has the league’s best goalie.

Julian Ryerson

Paul: 6

Joey: 6

Ryerson is scrappy and I love it. I don't think there was anything particularly noteworthy of this performance, but Ryerson has been consistent.

Patrick: 5

Once again, very workman from Julian Ryerson and he offered a bit more than Marius Wolf, his counterpart on his right. After scoring in his last two games, he failed to get on the scoresheet, despite several potshots from way too far out.

Mats Hummels

Paul: 6

Joey: 7

Hummels looked a bit tired in this match, but he still held the central defense and his aerial duals were strong.

Patrick: 6

Looked sharp enough despite the travel and was not as involved when Dortmund had possession. Out of possession, Bremen failed to create enough to warrant Hummels having to be rushed back to Germany.

Nico Schlotterbeck

Paul: 7

Joey: 7

I like this Schlotterbeck-Hummels pairing. The two work well together and deserve some credit for preventing Bremen from having more than five shots.

Patrick: 7

As Joey mentions, I think this is the defense pairing for the time being. Schlotterbeck has been growing into his game after some nervous moments last season. In possession he is showing that he likes to play the ball forward - something I approve of.

Marius Wolf

Paul: 6

Joey: 6

Wolf looked good in nearly every aspect of his game except crossing. His dribbling and general ball control were great. then he’d send a cross into the box and rarely found a teammate.

Patrick: 6

Was very involved in the team’s ball progression but really lacking with his final pass. About a quarter into the game, Bremen just started conceding space to him and packing the box - a strategy that worked very well. He came off in the 62nd minute.

Felix Nmecha

Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

Paul: 8

This was easily Felix Nmecha’s best performance in a Dortmund shirt so far. He made significant contributions on both ends of the ball, and showed glimpses of what he needs to be week-in, week-out to justify the money BVB spent on him.

Joey: 8

Patrick: 8

As Paul said, it was Nmecha’s best performance in a competitive game for Borussia Dortmund. In previous games, he really struggled out of possession and when trying to press but that was not the case against Bremen. He pressed well, was involved heavily involved in the link-up play, and looked threatening when trying to score.

Emre Can

Paul: 8

Joey: 8

Finally Emre Can is looking more like the player he was last season. This was his strongest showing of the season thus far, and his vision and accuracy in assisting Brandt’s goal was phenomenal.

Patrick: 8

Great game from the captain. Got the assist and was involved throughout. The midfield is starting to shape up with Ozcan, Sabitzer, Can, and Nmecha all looking deserving of a start.

Marco Reus

Paul: 6

Joey: 6

Patrick 6

Was not his best game of the season and the club legend came off for Gio Reyna in the 62nd minute. I thought Reyna offered a whole lot more in his cameo than Reus did in his 62 minutes.

Julian Brandt

Paul: 8

I thought Brandt was a little sloppy in the first half, giving up possession in dangerous spots a couple of times, though he was still making plays higher up the pitch. It was in the second half where he really picked things up. Brandt and was involved in all of Dortmund’s best work, including opening the scoring with a lovely goal on the 67th minute.

Brandt’s numbers from Friday night’s game absolutely pop off the page, and I could easily see an argument for a higher rating, but I’m knocking him down slightly because I thought he could have done a better job of picking his moments (or, rather, areas of the pitch) for taking risks.

Joey: 8

Patrick: 9

While Brandt failed to hit high gear in the first half, he showed how important he is for Borussia Dortmund. He was involved in his 7th Bundesliga goal this season and continues to be the focal point of Dortmund’s attack. I am so happy he is committed to Dortmund for the foreseeable future. Also worth mentioning it was Brandt’s 300th Bundesliga game so kudos to him.

Donyell Malen

Paul: 6

In the first half Malen was very busy, getting several good shots on goal, and even popping up at the other end of the pitch to snuff out a Werder Bremen counter. Malen catches a lot of flack because he looks pretty clumsy, but he impacts games. Unfortunately, a relatively bright first half tailed off after the break.

Joey: 7

Patrick: 6

It was not Malen’s best showing of the season but the Dutch forward still looked bright. He wants goals and will seek the ball out to make an impact. I loved his willingness to run at defenders despite failing to get on the score sheet on Friday night.

Niclas Füllkrug

Paul: 5

I’m not sure if Füllkrug was feeling the effects of the quick turnaround from international to domestic duties, or if his former colleagues are just well-versed in how to handle him, but he was kept quiet in the almost 80 minutes that he was on the pitch.

Joey: 6

Like Paul, I wonder how much playing Bremen affected Füllkrug. The opponents were likely quite familiar with Niclas’s play style. We can't forget that Füllkrug was starting for Werder Bremen less than two months ago.

Patrick: 5

Substitutions

Ramy Bensebaini

Paul: 6

Joey: 7

I thought this change was perfect. With Wolf out, Ryerson moved into the right-back position allowing Ramy the left side. Bensebaini drew Bremen’s players out wide, allowing BVB more space through the middle- space that Emre Can and Julian Brandt took perfect advantage of.

Patrick: 7

I think Bensebaini is the best fullback we have at the club and he reminded us with this game. He offers a lot more than Marius Wolf going forward.

Giovanni Reyna

Photo by Kevin Voigt/Getty Images

Paul: 8

If Bensebaini was lively off the bench, Reyna was electric. He was probably the best player on the pitch in the last 10-15 minutes. Giving out 8s for half hour of football feels a little silly, but I was so impressed by Gio’s performance, I stand by it. I hope we get to see the moody yank a bit more in coming weeks!

Joey: 8

As both a USA and BVB fan, I love seeing Gio play well. If he is fit (which is always a big ???) then he should be starting against Newcastle next week.

Patrick: 8

Marcel Sabitzer

Paul: 5

Joey: 6

Glad he’s returned from injury. I don’t think we've seen Sab at his best yet, but he certainly helps with the squad depth.

Patrick: 5

Good to see his return from injury but could not put his stamp on the game in the limited minutes he had. No complaints but no praise either.

Sebastian Haller

Paul: 6

Haller was not necessarily Dortmund’s best player in the short time he was on the pitch, but I was pleased to see him be a positive presence. He looked a little more like Sebastien Haller, and while there were a couple dodgy touches, some heavy passes, and signs that Haller is still struggling for fitness, I think the performance was, on balance, encouraging.

Joey: 5

I think Haller had a better showing than previous weeks, but he still managed to accidentally block two Dortmund shots, something he seems to be doing a lot lately when on the pitch.

Patrick: 5

Karim Adeyemi

N/A

Overall

Paul: 8

I think this was Dortmund’s best performance so far this season. They were pretty solid in the first half, but it was in the second half that they really turned it on. Bremen were pretty lucky to come away from the game having only conceded one goal.

Sometimes teams can fool themselves in to buying their own hype, despite lackluster performances. BVB were pretty mediocre early on in the season, but they kept on winning, and in recent games they have started to look like they’re finding their way out of that groove. Against Werder Bremen, Dortmund looked confident, played with fluidity, and kept plugging away relentlessly. Sometimes you’ve just got to stumble your way through some wins and convince yourself you’re good!

Joey: 8

It’s worth noting that all of my ratings are based on the 70 minutes of football I watched. I can thank ESPN+ for that...I think I can also recite their 15-second advertisement about how great ESPN+ is while ESPN+ wasn't working. Classic.

I’m still getting some vibes similar to the beginning last season. These aren't the prettiest victories, but they are wins that Dortmund is grinding out. I’d even suggest that we’d lose this in any of the previous three season. Werder Bremen have been something of a trap team for BVB in recent history, so a 1-0 Win makes me quite happy. (No conceded goals after the 89th!) At times, I even thought we were a bit unlucky not to have scored more. Both Reus and Malen had very close shots. The defense was strong, and the squad has few injuries at the moment.

There seemed to be greater squad cohesion than in previous matches this season. Perhaps Canmecha is a reasonable double pivot after all? Can and Nmecha both had their best showings of the season. I hope this will be something to build on in coming weeks.

Patrick: 8

Eights all around for Borussia Dortmund. The team played very well despite being limited to one goal. I think it’s important to mention that this Bremen team just packed the box. Of Dortmund’s 23 shots, 15 were inside the box and 10 were blocked by Bremen players. In seasons past, especially the start of last season, this would be a game where everyone affiliated with BVB left frustrated but Edin Terzic managed to get another result in the Bundesliga. It feels like the team is now playing themselves into form and reeling from last season’s disappointment. The Bundesliga race is on and Dortmund are very much in it.

Your Thoughts?

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