Match Ratings: Uninspiring Dortmund Fall in Paris

Dortmund travelled to Paris to take on an out-of-sorts PSG side who were coming off a shock 3-2 home defeat to Nice. Lining up in an unusual 5-3-2, the black and yellows frustrated the Parisians in the first half with a surprising display of organisation and diligence (though we very obviously lacked an outlet up front). Unfortunately, the stalemate was not to last, as Niklas Süle was unreasonably penalised for a “handball” in the box, giving PSG’s Ninja Turtle the opportunity to score from the spot. within ten minutes, the deficit was doubled, with PSG playing some lovely football and 30-million-man Lukas Nmecha falling asleep, as Hakimi finished from close range. Subs were brought on as the clock ticked on, and the attacking display improved when Reus and Füllkrug came on, with JBG hitting the outside of the post, but the attack remained ineffectual and we came away from the Parc des Princes bottom of the group.

Starting XI

Gregor Kobel

Yash: 6

I can’t blame him for conceding the goals he did.

Anders: 6

Impossible to save any of the goals really.

Julian Ryerson

Yash: 6

Collected a really harsh yellow. Solid throughout.

Anders: 6

As disciplined as always.

Nico Schlotterbeck

Yash: 7

Anders: 7

I think all three defenders were equally good. I think Schlotti and co. did a phenomenal job of keeping PSG from the net (until they didn’t).

Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Mats Hummels

Yash: 7

Marshalled the defence well as usual. PSG ended up managing a paltry three shots on target all game, a testament to his commanding presence at the back.

Anders: 7

Probably our best defender on the day if I had to pick any. He’s gonna be our player of the season if he keeps this up!

Niklas Süle

Yash: 7

Not going to count the penalty concession against his match rating, as it was frankly unreasonable. I mean, are defenders expected to have their arms amputated prior to games?!

Anders: 7

I usually try to stay out of complaining about calls, but I think this call was very harsh on Süle. Can’t blame him for it.

Marius Wolf

Yash: 6

Worked hard and kept it tight before being forced off with an injury late on.

Anders: 6

Marcel Sabitzer - N/A

Get well soon, Sabi!

Julian Brandt

Yash: 5

Difficult one to rate, this. Prior to his substitution, Jule was central to our all of our sporadic forays into PSG territory, but he was largely isolated and didn’t get much of an opportunity to make an impact.

Anders: 4

The system didn’t favor Brandt, but he didn’t exactly help himself much either. He got dispossessed most of anyone in the team, had a passing accuracy of just 61%(!) and completed 1 out of 5 dribbles.

Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images

Emre Can

Yash: 6

Worked so very hard and kept the centre of midfield locked, but collected yet another stupid yellow.

Anders: 6

Good in defense. Got a yellow for dissent (again). I really don’t like that from our captain.

Donyell Malen

Yash: 5

Anders: 4

None of our forwards were involved in game at all, but I don’t really think Malen did much to pick up the game himself either. It is what it is. He literally never played in a two-man striker system for Dortmund, so how much can you really blame him.

Karim Adeyemi

Yash: 5

I didn’t like Karim’s performance at all, until I rewatched the game (at 2x speed, admittedly) this morning. Like Donny, he was isolated and not really given a chance to shine, but I liked his off the ball work. Hopefully a step in the right direction, after a really disappointing start to the season.

Anders: 4

Karim was more lively than Donny, but not exactly in a good way. He had a better workrate, sure, but he ran so much for nothing. Terzic should have been more vocal about a duo press from both him and Malen. Then PSG might could have given up the ball.

Substitutes

Felix Nmecha

Yash: 4

Not horrible overall, as he put in a pretty solid two-way performance alongside Jule and Emre in the midfield but showed inexcusable laziness that cost us the second.

Anders: 4

His play before Hakimi’s goal was really the definition of “Oof”.

Niclas Füllkrug

Yash: 6

Anders: 6

Füllkrug is a real baller. Managed to facilitate more forward play than Adeyemi and Malen combined in his relatively short cameo.

Marco Reus

Yash: 6

The change in shape with the introduction of Füllkrug gave him someone to play off, and he added a little extra impetus in attack that was lacking.

Anders: 6

Jamie Bynoe-Gittens - N/A

Ramy Bensebaini - N/A

Overall

Yash: 5

Now I know there’s a lot of understandable negativity about the way we played. Was it uninspiring? Yes. Unambitious? Also, yes. Drab, even? Yep.

However, it is worth noting that PSG only managed a grand total of two shots on target from open play, their opening goal came from a ridiculously dodgy penalty decision (I still don’t understand what does and does not constitute a handball offence; the refereeing was awful throughout as well) and the second from a stupid mistake by Nmecha. Travelling to Paris and going all-out for a win may make for more attractive football, but given our recent tendencies, it probably would’ve been suicide, so I’m actually not against us trying to be more pragmatic and looking to shut the door on one of the world’s most talented attacks. Where we failed, however, was the out-ball going the other way, as, without a defined central striker, our counters weren’t cohesive and easy to break up as a result, though the substitutions (with the exception of the injury-enforced Bensebaini sub) changed the shape and made us a little more attacking in the closing stages (at the cost of defensive solidity, of course). Adding Füllkrug especially improved us going forward, simply because of his movement and physical presence. He and Reus absolutely must start this weekend.

On to Wolfsburg!

Anders: 5

The defense was great. The offense was non existing. I admire Terzic for actually trying something, but I did expect it to be more than just “throw long balls forward and be fast”. Just watch when we slaughter Wolfsburg 4-0 in the weekend.

Your Thoughts

What did you make of the new shape? Is Adeyemi’s form beginning to be really concerning? Who should start up front against Wolfsburg? Let us know!