Borussia Dortmund managed to seal a hard-fought win over an in-form Augsburg. Looking to extend their three points lead over Bayern Munich, Dortmund came into this game, following a disappointing 3:1 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League. The Black and Yellows took an early lead thanks to the brilliant backheel goal from new signing Andriy Yarmolenko. Augsburg were quick to reply, however, with a sensational cross from Philip Max from the right finding the head of Caiuby. But Shinji Kagawa’s moment of brilliance is what proved to be the difference between the two sides at the end.
Here are the Dortmund players rated in their win over the Bavarians.
Roman Burki (8.5/10): Looked a little clumsy early on but made some extremely crucial saves to deny Augsburg the second equalizer in the second half. He was busy for much of the second half and did quite well to concede just one goal.
Lukasz Piszczek (8/10): Remained solid defensively on the right flank. Piszczek hardly put a foot wrong in defending against the opposing wingers. A great performance from the Polish International.
Sokratis (6/10): Was guilty of a few nervy clearances and miscommunications with the goalkeeper. The Greek defender needs to be much more confident in his defensive game.
Marc Bartra (6.5/10): Came back into the starting eleven following an injury against SC Freiburg. Showed glimpses of his brilliance at times. Most notably, when he made an important interception and quickly released Auba with a stunning long ball.
Jeremy Toljan (6.5/10): Remained solid until the end of the match. Although he was kept busy for the most period of the game by the opposing wingers and fullback.
Julian Weigl (6/10): Didn’t make much of an impact, after an incredible performance last week. Weigl wasn’t given much space and was always tightly marked by Daniel Baier.
Mahmoud Dahoud (6/10): Also failed to make an impact in central midfield. Dahoud was lacking the support to breeze through opposition defences and his passes didn’t cause much trouble for the Augsburg defence either.
Shinji Kagawa (9/10): Ruled the game for the entire time he was on. He was completely dominating the opposition in the first half. Kagawa’s ball carrying abilities lent him an advantage in the final third. His lovely chipped goal might be a strong contender for the goal of the season.
Andriy Yarmolenko (8/10): Proving to be a huge bargain for Dortmund, as his performances seem to improve day by day. His clever backheel goal was a joy to watch. However, he was literally crushed and smashed by some dangerous tackles by the Augsburg players in the second half and was eventually subbed off.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (5/10): By far the most terrible player on the field. Aubameyang completely failed to make an impression as he missed four clear-cut chances to extend Dortmund’s lead in the second half, including a missed penalty.
Christian Pulisic (6/10): Wasn’t involved in anything in the first half but was more and more involved as the game went on. Overall, it wasn’t a great game for the American wonder kid.
Substitutes
Maximilian Philipp (5.5/10): Replaced a tired Andriy Yarmolenko around the hour mark but failed to instil his offensive abilities as he was non-existent throughout the final period of the game.
Gonzalo Castro (7.5/10): Came on for Mahmoud Dahoud and instilled his calming presence in midfield which eventually helped Dortmund see out their slender one-goal lead.
Omer Toprak (NA): Was subbed on for midfielder Shinji Kagawa to bring more defensive solidity to help see out the rest of the game.
