Borussia Dortmund ended their 2016 campaign, drawing to FC Augsburg. The home side failed to break their winless streak in the Bundesliga as a sturdy Augsburg side proved too much for the young squadron of Thomas Tuchel. Former Dortmund striker Dong-Won Ji gave the visitors their very first 1st half lead, when he made use of a good counter attack from Augsburg. However, Ousmane Dembele was there to rescue Dortmund at the start of the second half through some neat play. Here are the player ratings of Dortmund in their 1:1 draw against Die Fuggerstadter.
Roman Weidenfeller (6.5/10): Once again failed to keep a clean sheet. The veteran goalkeeper is finding it difficult to replace the injured number one Roman Bürki, managing ZERO shutouts in the Bundesliga this season.
Matthias Ginter (7/10): Started as a right-sided centre-back for Dortmund. Ginter was deployed to play Sokratis’ role in the defence. He stayed deep and tried to defend the counter attacks from the opponent. A rather dull game for the 22-year old.
Marc Bartra (7/10): The Spanish international is failing to live up to the expectation and fill the giant boots of Mats Hummels in the Dortmund camp. Being the most experienced centre back for the Black and Yellows on the night, Bartra failed to lead the backline and his poor pass led to the counter-attack which resulted in Augsburg’s goal.
Mikel Merino (8/10): A very good game from the new signing. The former Osasuna man once again featured as a centre back for Dortmund. Good with his passing, Merino’s ball playing abilities are certainly remarkable. A 91% passing accuracy along with six interceptions make him the best Dortmund defender on the night. He could really be the man to replace Mats Hummels, using his aerial abilities and skill.
Christian Pulisic (7/10): An average game from the American. Deployed as a right wingback, he was often isolated and seen far away from the action. Did, however, manage to create some spark of brilliance at times which produced no fruit at the end.
Julian Weigl (7/10): The young midfielder signed a contract extension with Dortmund just before the game. But the extension didn’t give him the boost he had hoped for. Weigl was often too conservative with his style of play and because Dortmund didn’t have any ball carriers in the middle, Weigl should have stepped up to the task.
Mario Götze (7.5/10): Götze was a lively wire in the middle. Dropping back and helping out the middle while also having surging runs upfront. His overall gameplay is improving at Dortmund and the winter break will perhaps come at a wrong time.
Shinji Kagawa (7.5/10): Finally found his place in the starting lineup. Shinji Kagawa was responsible for the assist for Dortmund’s equaliser. However, the former Manchester United could have much more to the offence.
Marcel Schmelzer (8/10): Dortmund captain Marcel Schmelzer had a pretty decent outing against Augsburg. His crosses were on target, all three of his crosses were dangerous while he also linked up pretty well with his teammates up front.
Ousmane Dembele (9/10): Without a doubt, Ousmane Dembele is the best Dortmund player in December. Three goals and three assists in six games proves his worth to Thomas Tuchel’s team. The Frenchman was a livewire in the offence and often used his own individual brilliance to spark something upfront, which often looked like a one-man attack.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (7/10): He wasn’t shy of services against Augsburg. But couldn’t quite provide the final touch he needed. Ended up having a frustrating night as he failed to find his 101st goal for the Ruhr side.
