Borussia Dortmund ended up topping the Group F thanks to a draw against defending champions, Real Madrid. Karim Benzema scored a brace to give the hosts a 2:0 advantage but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal kept Black and Yellows in the game before Marco Reus’ late strike levelled the scoreline. Here are the Dortmund player ratings in their stalemate with Real Madrid.
Roman Weidenfeller (8.5/10): Played extremely well to keep out Real scoring five or six goals. Weidenfeller made a host of saves, six to be exact, in order to keep his side in the equation throughout the game.
Lukasz Piszczek (7.5/10): The Pole wasn’t involved too much early on but his incursion down the right-hand side, was key for Dortmund’s attack as the game wore on. Constantly overlapping down the right, Piszczek was very dangerous in the final phase of the game.
Sokratis (6/10): Had a decent night but far from great. Attempted just one tackle and one interception throughout the entire game. Struggled to cope with the aerial presence of Karim Benzema.
Marc Bartra (6/10): Also struggled to keep hold off Real attackers. The former Barcelona man left his usual position quite a lot of times, to press out the opposition. But his poor positioning and lack of marking cost Dortmund the two goals.
Marcel Schmelzer (6.5/10): Did well on the left side but often got caught out due to his lack of speed, and agility. His crosses too were not going anywhere near the target. However, his link up plays with Reus and co. was excellent in the final phase.
Julian Weigl (8/10): Dominated the play as always. Weigl sat into the middle like a midfield hub, even with the pressure of Luka Modric marking him tightly as he could. He managed 104 touches in the game, more than any other player, as well as 93 passes, also the most by any player on the night.
Gonzalo Castro (6/10): Very underwhelming performance from the 28-year old. Struggled to shine in midfield against the likes of Casemiro and Luka Modric. His poor touches and bad passes often hindered Dortmund’s progression in the final third.
Christian Pulisic (6/10): Was completely isolated down the right flank in the first half but slowly managed to get involved after the break. Had a great opportunity to score but his shot went straight to Keylor Navas. A disappointing night for the American.
Andre Schurrle (6/10): Schurrle too struggled to shine against Real. A 6.4 rating from WhoScored makes him the worst player on the night, and rightly so. He didn’t offer anything in Dortmund’s offence and was taken off in the latter stages.
Ousmane Dembele (7.5/10): Struggled to create anything in the first half as he got deployed in the middle. But as Dortmund grew stronger in the second half, Dembele became more active and as the game went on he started to play a wide role.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (8/10): Was arguably the worst player in the first half. But grew stronger as the game went on. Even though he struggled to beat the Real backline consisting Ramos and Varane, the Gabonese’s link up play were crucial to the Dortmund goals.
Subs
Marco Reus (8.5/10): Came in and changed the dynamics of the game. Took charge of the middle and often positioned himself in the zone 14 area, where it is kind of becomes awkward to mark. His link up play with Auba was a delight to watch. Wrapped up the performance by scoring the equaliser late in the game.
Emre Mor (7.5/10): Was lively after coming on in the latter stages of the game. Always willing to get on the ball, Mor didn’t prove any trouble for Real defence but his delightful through ball led to the Dortmund equaliser, late in the game.
Sebastian Rode (NA): Came in very late to steady the Dortmund ship. Replaced the poor Gonzalo Castro and played some neat passes around to circulate possession around the Real half.
