Borussia Dortmund leapfrogged TSG Hoffenheim to regain the third spot in the Bundesliga table. The Black and Yellows capitalised on their charmed luck to clinch all three points and at the same time, keep their long unbeaten home run intact. Marco Reus scored early on to give his team the lead. Despite Hoffenheim’s constant attempts to dismantle the Dortmund defence, they saw themselves on the back foot again, as Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang doubled Dortmund’s lead in the 80th minute. Shortly afterwards, the visitors were awarded a penalty which was converted by former Leicester City striker Andrej Kramaric but that ended up as a consolation goal only for Julian Nagelsmann’s troops. Here are the best and the worst rated Dortmund players as they edged past a strong Hoffenheim team.
Roman Burki(7/10): The keeper was hardly called into action apart from the second half penalty by Andrej Kramaric. Despite Hoffenheim often putting pressure on the defence, goalkeeper Burki had a pretty quiet afternoon.
Lukasz Piszczek(7/10): A tough evening for the Polish International, who was recently nominated for the best right back of the season by Bundesliga. Piszczek had troubles keeping up with the likes of Steven Zuber and Andrej Kramaric.
Sokratis(8/10): A strong performance which led to Dortmund dominance throughout the second half. Sokratis was tellingly impressive against Hoffenheim and was vital in stopping some meaningful counter attacks by the opposition.
Matthias Ginter(7.5/10): The questionable penalty aside, Ginter actually had a pretty good game in defence for BVB. He remained solid alongside Sokratis and most importantly, kept tabs on the dangerous Sandro Wagner.
Marcel Schmelzer(8.5/10): Once again showed his brilliant run of form as he controlled the entire left flank on his own. He was equally solid defending against the Hoffenheim wingers and made as many as five interceptions throughout the game.
Julian Weigl(8/10): Wasn’t as impressive with his passing in the first half as he missed a few good opportunities to deliver verticals balls to his teammates running in behind the defence. However, the 21-year-old exploded in the second half and gave Dortmund more assurance and control in the midfield.
Gonzalo Castro(7.5/10): A decent game for the former Leverkusen midfielder. Castro pivoted well alongside Julian Weigl and dominated the middle of the pitch. He also made a number of key passes.
Ousmane Dembele(7.5/10): Didn’t have a great game, the French winger. But his willingness to drive through the opposition made him a clear threat for Hoffenheim, especially in the first half.
Marco Reus(8.5/10): Had luck on his side, as his clear offside positioning was overseen by the linesman for his opener early on. Also won a penalty, in a situation where he actually handled the ball just before Niklas Sule made the challenge. His goal proved to be the telling difference between the two sides at the end.
Raphael Guerreiro(8/10): Had an extremely clumsy start early on as he misplaced a lot of his passes directly to the opposition. But the Portuguese midfielder came back roaring in the second half and manipulated most of the BVB attacks. He also created the chance with lead to the Aubameyang goal in the final phase of the game.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang(7/10): It wasn’t an easy game for Aubameyang by any means as having just four touches up until the half-hour mark suggests. Missed an easy penalty and was largely non-existent throughout the game. However, he did manage to make a breakthrough at the end, scoring BVB’s second goal of the afternoon and at the same time, matching with Robert Lewandowski’s 28 goal tally for the season.
