Borussia Dortmund started their new campaign in emphatic fashion, with a win over VfL Wolfsburg. Peter Bosz’s men have had to deal with an injury crisis but fortunately for him, his team didn’t disappoint in their opening fixture in the Bundesliga as they swept aside a hapless Wolfsburg team. Christian Pulisic scored the opener, after a disciplined start from the Wolfsburg defence. Marc Bartra then, followed it up, minutes later, with a stunning curling effort to make it 2:0 before halftime. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made it 3:0 inside the hour mark, latching onto a cross from Christian Pulisic. Even though Mario Gomez did find the back of the net, but his goal was ruled offside.
Here are the best and the worst Dortmund players rated in their comfortable win vs Andries Jonker’s Wolfsburg.
Roman Burki(7.5/10): Didn’t have too much to do, thanks to a rather blunt Wolfsburg attack. The Swiss goalkeeper didn’t make any major saves but he was good in getting out of his line to clear out any dangers. Also looked very confident on the ball.
Lukasz Piszczek(7.5/10): Was solid playing as the right back. He became the player to make the most number of appearances than any other Pole with 249. He marked this special occasion with a solid performance down the flank.
Sokratis(8.5/10): He was excellent in keeping out the opposition attack and led the backline inexplicably well. The Greek defender continues to excel at Dortmund with his fearless performances week in week out.
Marc Bartra(9.5/10): Bartra complemented Sokratis very well in the backline. Apart from that, the former Barcelona defender moved up the field in regular intervals. His curling effort for Dortmund’s second goal once again proves his credentials as an exterior- ball playing centre back.
Dan-Axel Zagadou(8/10): The Frenchman made his Bundesliga debut following the absence of Marcel Schmelzer, Erik Durm and Raphael Guerreiro. Zagadou, honestly, did well as a left back. He was fairly agile for his 1.95m figure and kept out the opposition threat.
Nuri Sahin(8.5/10): Sahin once again makes full use of the faith given to him by Peter Bosz. The Turkish midfielder was a calming figure in midfield, often mixing up the short passes and the long balls into deep channels to unsettle the Wolfsburg defence.
Gonzalo Castro(8.5/10): Had his best game for Dortmund in a while. The ex-Leverkusen midfielder showed his skills in driving his team’s progress in the final third. Castro was the main man behind Dortmund’s transition from defence to attack.
Mario Gotze(9/10): Peter Bosz’s decision to start Mario Gotze instead of Mahmoud Dahoud was vindicated when the German World Champions rocked the proceedings with his dazzling movements and neat passing. Gotze looked to be back in his former self, which will, no doubt, please Peter Bosz along with all the Dortmund faithful. Gotze assisted Pulisic’s opener in the first half.
Christian Pulisic(9.5/10): The American wonderkid completely overshadowed the absence of Ousmane Dembele with a fantastic performance. Pulisic was often the inspiring figure for the most part of Dortmund’s attack. His goal made him the youngest foreign player to score six goals in the Bundesliga. He also assisted Aubameyang’s second half goal with an outstanding low cross.
Maximilian Philipp(7.5/10): Was very influential in the first half, where he often picked up balls from midfield and started running in behind the defence. But his overall impact in the game started to fade away as the game progressed but then, it was his first Bundesliga game in Dortmund colours.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang(9/10): Once again, an outstanding performance from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose overall work ethic seem to have changed a lot under new coach Peter Bosz. The Gabonese International got off the mark with an easy tap in from a Christian Pulisic cross.
Subs
Mahmoud Dahoud(8/10): Subbed on for Mario Gotze inside the hour mark, and he picked up from where Gotze left off. Dahoud was equally influential in the midfield, and also showed his glimpses of brilliance with some neat touches, quick movements and great vision. He is one of many reasons for Dortmund fans to be excited about, this season.
Felix Passlack(NA): Replaced a tiring Dan-Axel Zagadou around the 77th minute mark. Passlack did well to keep track of enemy movements and to see out the three goal cushion.
Shinji Kagawa(NA): Brought on for Christian Pulisic in the final five minutes of the game, to inject more creativity in the attack.
