Borussia Dortmund failed to capitalise on their sizzling form as they fell at the hands of Hertha Berlin this week in the Bundesliga. The Black and Yellows struggled to break down the sturdy defence of Pal Dardai’s men throughout the game, as a simple tap in for Solomon Kalou and a brilliant freekick by Marvin Plattenhardt was enough for the home side to seal a 2:1 victory over Thomas Tuchel’s men. Here are all the Dortmund players rated, as they slump at the hands of a brave Hertha Berlin side.
Roman Burki(7.5/10): Had a mixed game on Saturday afternoon. Made a couple of great saves throughout the game but should have done better with the positioning from the Plattenhardt free kick.
Marc Bartra(7.5/10): A weird looking formation forced Marc Bartra in an unusual right centre back spot. The former Barcelona man looked imposing on the defensive side and tried to impress the BVB faithful with his buildup game.
Matthias Ginter(6.5/10): Was absolutely horrible throughout the game. The 23-year-old played a role in all two of Hertha’s goals. He gave away possession to Vedad Ibisevic in his own half for the first goal, then his foul led to the free kick which resulted in the goal by Marvin Plattenhardt. An awful evening for the former Freiburg defender.
Marcel Schmelzer(7/10): Looked bamboozled in the first half, as he offered literally nothing on defence, nor offence. His poor positioning cost Dortmund to give away possession in several moments. Acted as a proper left back in the second half.
Julian Weigl(7/10): It was one of those rare games, where Weigl failed to exhibit his brilliance in the middle of the pitch. The young midfielder was often seen lacking a proper midfield partner, and therefore, was forced to play a series of backpasses.
Erik Durm(7/10): Provided little on the right flank as he often seemed to roam out of action while none of his crosses were on target. Got replaced in the latter stages of the game due to his ineffectiveness.
Gonzalo Castro(7/10): Lacked the mettle to breach the Hertha defence and the times, he tried to do so, he got often outnumbered by the likes of Darida, Stark and Skjelbred. Almost missed a couple of glorious chances to get his side back into the game.
Shinji Kagawa(9/10): The Japanese International was excellent throughout the game. He showcased his unbelievable control over the ball to churn out spaces even in the toughest situations and offered numerous scoring opportunities for his side but unfortunately, no one really turned up on the afternoon apart from himself.
Andre Schurrle(6.5/10): Offered nothing in attack, as the German International lacked quality on the ball to swing past the opposition defender. At the end, he struggled to possess any substantial amount of threat.
Raphael Guerreiro(7.5/10): Came back into the side after missing out midweek’s fixture against SL Benfica. The Portuguese midfielder was restricted to roam forward due to Schmelzer’s lack of understanding in the positional game. Otherwise, the former Lorient man would have been the perfect man to partner Kagawa in attacking positions.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang(7.5/10): Scored the all-important equaliser in the second half but apart from that, the Gabonese International was almost non-existent for the entirety of the match. He also missed a great opportunity to put his side in front in the second half.
