Match Ratings: Dortmund Leave it Late Against SC Freiburg

After a nervy start to the season, BVB finally claimed another three points at the Europa-Park Stadion in Freiburg. Terzic’s men got some help along the way when Nicolas Höfler was sent off in the 82nd minute after a very dangerous tackle on Marcel Sabitzer. The Black and Yellows used the man-advantage well and managed to score two goals for a final scoreline of 2-4. So — was the scoreline reflective of the actual game? Find out by reading our ratings from Saturday’s game against SC Freiburg below!

Starting XI:

Gregor Kobel

Anders: 6

I mean, Greg really didn’t really stand a chance against either of the goals. He was serviceable other than that, and for that, you’ll receive a good ol’ six.

Yash: 6

Rami Bensebaini

Anders: 3

A very suspect performance from a player I think has been decent since he joined. Rightfully hauled off by Terzic at halftime. Glad to see Terzic react promptly on like this.

Yash: 3

Outside of a very good 30 minutes vs Bochum, Bensebaini has not convinced me at all. Today was no different, as he was ripped to shreds by the far quicker and more intelligent Doan.

Nico Schlotterbeck

Anders: 6

Schlotti wasn’t really at fault for any of the goals, and I do believe the team left him with very few options in terms of playing out from the back. As a result, he was forced to throw some diagonals to Malen, and he often made the Dutchman run for the ball in vain. Also — he should do more forward runs. They often work out quite well.

Yash: 6

Mats Hummels

Anders: 9

When are we gonna put our old man in attack? He’s by far the best defender (attacker) on set pieces in the league at the moment, and I think his goals were warranted given how dangerous he has been since the season began. Still able to set an example for the entire team at the age of almost 35, Mats is a true legend of the game.

Yash: 10

I can’t remember ever having given out a ten, but if this doesn’t deserve one, I can’t imagine anything will.

Julian Ryerson

Anders: 6

Ryerson held onto a very firm seven, but he did fall off a bit in the second half, when he wasn’t able to track back. Still, I think it was a very decent shift from the Norwegian. He was constantly pressing his opponent and made it very hard for Freiburg to play through the right side.

Yash: 6

Great in the first half, struggled with the effervescent Doan in the second.

Emre Can

Anders: 6

I was considering granting Emre a seven, as his sporting performance was pretty good. I do think he needs to shift the ball a tad bit faster though. I also really don’t like our captain arguing with the referee every game. This time he managed to complain within the first 50 seconds. I don’t think it sets a good example.

Yash: 6

Marcel Sabitzer

Anders: 6

Try and rewatch some of this game, and you’ll see just how impactful Sabitzer actually is. Also drew a red card with a lovely drive forward.

Yash: 7

An absolute machine in midfield, and we’re beginning to see him really complement Can well now.

Julian Brandt

Anders: 6

Lovely corners from this man.

Yash: 7

Karim Adeyemi

Anders: 5

Think Adeyemi looked pretty bright for the last 15 minutes, but I’m starting to worry a bit in terms of his actual skillset. At the current moment, it seems like Malen does everything Adeyemi is supposed to do, but better. From what I’ve seen so far, he doesn’t have the ability to straight up beat defenders in 1v1’s and create chances for himself. Let’s hope he’ll be more useful against PSG’s offensive setup.

Yash: 4

Sébastien Haller

Anders: 3

I still have faith that Haller will bounce back, but Fülle really needs to start ahead of him against PSG.

Yash: 2

Our big number nine’s only moment of note was receiving a rather painful squeeze from Freiburg’s Max Eggestein. Ouch.

Donyell Malen

Anders: 7

Finally we have a winger that always seems to find a way to score. Lovely run off Füllkrug’s flick and a sublime finish.

Yash: 7

I’ve made no secret of my displeasure with Donny’s performances so far this season, and his first half did nothing to change that. He came out the tunnel a different player in the second half, and his goal came from a moment of real intelligence that I’ve felt his game has lacked thus far. More of the same, please!

Substitutes:

Marius Wolf

Anders: 6

Wolf entered the game in the 2nd half and added some much needed tempo to the left side. He was tasked with being a bit more defensive, as Freiburg were good at retaining the ball, and he handled it fairly well.

Yash: 7

Niclas Füllkrug

Anders: 7

Delivered an assist for Malen within one minute. He managed to show a lot of offensive flexibility in his first real outing. He said he was an all-rounder in his pre-match interview, and he sure is. Without actually comparing them, he’s slightly reminiscent of a certain English forward in Munich actually.

Yash: 7.5

His off-the-ball work was so impressive today, and his ability to drop into space gave Donny room in behind, making him a real threat. Lovely assist as well.

Felix Nmecha

Anders: 5

I trust that he’ll play himself into a rhythm, and I’m sorry to say that he was quite ineffective off the bench once again.

Yash: 4

Marco Reus

Anders: 7

This is what I’m talking about! We saw vintage Marco Reus off the bench for around 20 minutes, and you could clearly see that our old captain was off to prove the doubters wrong. Basically didn’t set a foot wrong and managed a lovely goal. Rating could have been higher, had he been on for longer.

Yash: 8

Scored one and created another in a super cameo. He just seems to make the whole team play with that extra bit of slickness.

Youssoufa Moukoko

N/A

Overall

Anders: 6

Honestly, I only started to notice improvement in our play after Füllkrug (and Nmecha) came on. I don’t like how easily we let Freiburg shuffle the ball around. Apart from Malen’s 60th minute goal against the run of play, we almost didn’t touch the ball from the 55th to the 70th minute. Don’t get me wrong — Freiburg are good, and they are very good at home, but as a team that should challenge for the top of the table, we had little to no momentum in the game. Although there were bright spots (Hummels, Reus and Füllkrug especially), I still think Terzic was saved a bit by individual quality today. It’s good that we have nothing to lose in Paris.

Yash: 6

I criticise Terzic often for poor substitutions, but today he got them spot on. Bringing on Füllkrug (and later Reus) improved the team’s general level massively. However, we were only really convincing for short periods, and we did also have that weird spell in the second half where we went some 20 minutes without sustained possession. However, there are some positives to take, too; Wolf is starting to look lively again, and the Sabi-Can double pivot is now showing signs of becoming a good pairing, while Hummels and Brandt remain some of the league’s best in their respective positions. Definitely not wholly convinced by the performance, but this is the first game to give me some hope for the season ahead.

Your Thoughts?

What did you think of our ratings? Did you see improvement from our first three games? Let us know in the comments below!