Match Ratings: Borussia Dortmund Fail to Deliver in 1-1 Draw with VfL Bochum

Borussia Dortmund’s one-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table lasted all of one week. Despite our excited discussions about BVB’s destiny being in its own hands and the possibility of “winning out” to bring the Meisterschale to Dortmund for the first time since the 2011/12 season, BVB managed to give it all up in the very next game. It doesn’t matter what you think about BVB’s chances of winning the league (I remain optimistic that Bayern will drop points, so there’s an opportunity there), their 1-1 draw against Bochum on Friday was still incredibly frustrating.

The game provided multiple sources of frustration, from the early worldie that Bochum scored, to the myriad of missed opportunities for Borussia Dortmund, and, of course, the penalty that never was. Who am I to yuck your yum? You are free to be annoyed about any of the various irritants from Friday’s missed opportunity. Maybe even all of them, if you’re that way inclined?

Regardless, BVB are going to have to keep chase with Bayern Munich and, thanks to the weekend’s mishap, hope that the perennial champions slip up down the final stretch. Here are our ratings from BVB’s 1-1 draw with VfL Bochum:

Starting XI

Gregor Kobel

Paul: 6

Anders: 6

Didn’t have much to do. Only a very good keeper would’ve saved Bochum’s goal, and he almost had it. Can’t fault him for the result.

Raphael Guerreiro

Paul: 6

Guerreiro was a constant threat going forward, but he got caught out too high up the pitch for Bochum’s opening goal. It was the same Guerreiro we’ve been both mesmerised and infuriated by over the years.

Anders: 6

Mats Hummels

Paul: 7

Anders: 7

Very good for defending Bochum’s long-ball strategy.

Niklas Süle

Paul: 7

I thought Süle and Hummels were BVB’s best players on Friday. They provided a perfect (well, maybe that’s stretching it) one-two punch of Hummels’s excellence in possession and Süle’s stellar defensive work.

Anders: 7

Solid defensively. I actually wondered why he didn’t do more forward raids, as it could have gained us a man-advantage in build-up.

Julian Ryerson

Paul: 6

I thought Ryerson was pretty good, particularly late in the game. Possibly deserves a slightly higher score, but I’m also frustrated by the outcome of the game so I’m reluctant to give out more 7s.

Anders: 7

One of Ryerson’s best performances in a black and yellow shirt. He especially showcased his dribbling ability to either earn himself throw-ins or to keep hold of the ball.

Emre Can

Paul: 5

Anders: 6

Can was perfectly fine. He did manage some great forward passes, but I do think he also slowed our game down a bit at times.

Jude Bellingham

Paul: 5

I’m a little torn on this rating. I thought Bellingham was one of the more lively offensive players, and he was trying to make things happen in the final third, but he also contributed to the lost battle in the middle of the park, and I think he vacated vital space in the middle too often.

Anders: 5

Julian Brandt

Paul: 4

Brandt seems to have returned to his poor form of previous seasons. Whatever Terzic did to get him firing this season, he needs to do it again.

Anders: 4

Getting flashbacks to last year. Brandt has hit a slump, but I trust him to get out of it.

Karim Adeyemi

Paul: 6

I think Adeyemi played pretty well and was a little unlucky to not add to his tally. He was definitely unlucky not to win BVB a penalty as well.

Anders: 7

Adeyemi tried and tried. And then he tired some more. Was he wasteful? Hell yeah. But he did put himself in dangerous situations time and time again; something not all offensive players can manage.

Donyell Malen

Paul: 6

Anders: 6

Malen — just like Adeyemi — tried, but failed to be dangerous against Bochum. He still looks way more confident with the ball, and I find that very good.

Sébastien Haller

Paul: 6

Anders: 5

I’m getting a tiny tad tired of seeing Haller start. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not thinking about shipping Haller off or anything. I just think Mouki deserves to start.

Substitutes

Marco Reus

Paul: 5

Anders: 5

Sadly, a pretty anonymous display from our captain. Did have a very good almost-assist to for Mouki though.

Youssoufa Moukoko

Paul: 6

Moukoko was lively off the bench, and perhaps would have benefited from coming into the game a little earlier (though I think Terzic was trying to see who would blink first with the subs).

Anders: 6

Moukoko almost scored two minutes after entering the field. He was good in pressing, but he seems to sometimes disappear out of games. Still think he was more present that Haller though.

Gio Reyna

Paul: 4

He’s pulled something special out of the bag on a couple occasions late in the game this season, so it’s understandable that Terzic gave him a go, but I thought he was pretty wasteful in the short time he was on the pitch against Bochum.

Anders: 3

I really didn’t like what Reyna did for 10 minutes he was on the field. Both of his “attempts” were very selfish and only amounted to Riemann being able to waste 3-4 minutes for goal kicks. He tried to play saviour once again, only this time it didn’t work.

Marius Wolf

N/A

Anthony Modeste

N/A

Overall

Paul: 6

Although it wasn’t a brilliant performance, I think a lot of the frustrations that fans are feeling is really about the outcome and what it (potentially) means for BVB’s season. Dortmund’s finishing needed to be better, but on the whole I still think they were unlucky to not come away with the win.

My biggest criticism is that they never really had control of the game, and were unable to pile on the kind of pressure that could have turned BVB’s offense from a lot of half decent opportunities to a steady onslaught of high-value chances.

Anders: 6

The team did play alright. They were just wasteful. One thing I do think Terzic needs to address, is the fact that Bochum — of all teams — were able to convincingly press Dortmund in the final stages of the game. The team has the quality to be able to pin back a team like Bochum if they really wanted to, but it sadly didn’t happen. If Bochum aren’t scared to press BVB in the 88th minute, then who should be?