Borussia Dortmund retained their top spot in the Bundesliga table with an emphatic 3:0 win over Hamburger SV. Goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Shinji Kagawa, and Christian Pulisic eased Dortmund to victory on the night. The Black and Yellows also achieved some milestones in the process. Pulisic’s goal was Dortmund’s 3000th Bundesliga goal while Peter Bosz became the first Bundesliga head coach to start the season with five consecutive clean sheets.
Here are the Dortmund players rated in their thumping of Hamburg.
Roman Burki (8.5/10): Had a much busier evening compared to Cologne on the weekend but the Swiss International was up to the task. He made some crucial saves to preserve his clean sheet. A very good performance from the Dortmund goalkeeper.
Lukasz Piszczek (8/10): Looked pretty fresh, despite starting in all of Dortmund’s games this season. He was confident in the buildup game. Piszczek’s link-up with Andriy Yarmolenko and Christian Pulisic on the right flank was a joy to watch.
Sokratis (7.5/10): Didn’t have a peaceful evening defending against the likes of Lewis Holtby and Salihovic. But the Greek International prevailed at the end with some dogged display.
Omer Toprak (9/10): An excellent performance from the Turkish defender. He had Bobby Wood in his pocket for the entirety of the game whilst also looking very very comfortable in passing and cleaning out any threats from the opposition.
Dan-Axel Zagadou (7/10): Not exactly a great game from the new signing as he struggled to thrive due to his lack of mobility. His passing was also not exactly pleasing either.
Nuri Sahin (8.5/10): Started the game slowly but made a big impact in the second half, where he started controlling the midfield. His pinpoint passes lead to a few chances for Dortmund tonight. Once again a clinical display from the Turkish midfielder.
Gonzalo Castro (8.5/10): Dortmund fans criticized Bosz’s decision to start Castro ahead of Mahmoud Dahout but that decision paid dividends as the former Leverkusen man slayed Hamburg with his offensive runs and clever passing.
Andriy Yarmolenko (9/10): Another super impressive run in from the Ukrainian International. Yarmolenko hardly put a foot wrong in all the 65 minutes he played against Hamburg. He looked menacing on the wings, especially with his quick feet, often bamboozling the Hamburg defenders. His deflected shot resulted in the Aubameyang chance.
Shinji Kagawa (7/10): Was basically non-existent in the first half, but still managed to score out of nowhere. It wasn’t the best of days for the Japanese International, despite enjoying a much better second half.
Christian Pulisic (9/10): Failed to make an impression in the first half, but grew with confidence as the game wore on. He shifted to the right wing, after the substitution of Yarmolenko, which proved to be the telling point. He sparked a lot of attacks down the right, and at the end, was rewarded with a goal.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (7.5/10): Didn’t see much of the ball tonight. Aubameyang was largely isolated in the Hamburg defensive zones. Although he did capitalize on Yarmolenko’s deflected shot to score his fifth of the season, the Gabonese missed a few glaring opportunities to further improve Dortmund’s lead.
Substitutes
Mahmoud Dahoud (8.5/10): Made a telling impact after replacing Shinji Kagawa around the hour mark. The former Gladbach midfielder looked lively throughout the rest of the game. He was the one with the sleek pass in for Christian Pulisic for Dortmund’s third of the game.
Maximilian Philipp (7.5/10): Shifted to the left wing position, after coming on for the excellent Andriy Yarmolenko in the 65th minute. He didn’t manage to add to Dortmund’s tally against Hamburg, but his positioning looked very good.
Jacob Bruun Larsen (NA): The youngster was subbed on for a tiring Zagadou in the final ten minutes of the game as Peter Bosz once again showed his tenderness for the young players.
