Borussia Dortmund’s woes in the Bundesliga continues as the Black and Yellows have slumped to a defeat against Hannover. The visitors were left hopeless against a lethal attacking display from the home side, as goals from Felix Klaus, Jonathan and a brace from Ihlas Bebou guided them to an impressive 4-2 win over Dortmund.
Here are the Dortmund players rated in their disappointing defeat at the hands of Andre Breitenreiter’s men.
Roman Burki (7.5/10): A mixed performance from the Swiss International, who didn’t make many saves in the first half but his fantastic saves later on in the game, rescued Dortmund from further embarrassment.
Marc Bartra (7/10): A very rusty performance from Bartra, who once again played in an unusual right back position. Bartra failed to cope with this high-intensity pressing scheme from the home side.
Sokratis (6.5/10): Absolutely awful defensive display in the central defence. Sokratis looked puzzled throughout the game and made some foolish defensive actions which eventually exposed Dortmund on many occasions. He desperately needs to step up his game to the next level.
Dan-Axel Zagadou (6.5/10): Started the game well, but lost his rhythm as the game went on. Although the young Frenchman scored his first goal in the Bundesliga, Zagadou was completely caught off-guard in the centre of the defence. His hapless tackles from behind also earned him his first red card in BVB colours and that proved to be the turning point of the game.
Marcel Schmelzer (8/10): Was the only standout defender in the Dortmund backline. Schmelzer was fully aware of his defensive positioning and made some important interceptions throughout the game.
Nuri Sahin (7/10): Looked good in possession but couldn’t make much of an impact as the central midfield. Had to be sacrificed following the red card incident around the hour mark.
Mario Gotze (7.5/10): Gotze was basically non-existent in the first half but as soon as Hannover started to tire a little, the German International began to make a strong impact in the game, especially in the final phase of the game.
Gonzalo Castro (6.5/10): Was almost useless in central midfield, as he wasn’t able to contribute to anything in the middle third. Castro got rightly subbed off right after the halftime whistle.
Andriy Yarmolenko (8/10): It was an awful first half for Andriy Yarmolenko, who managed to produce one of the glaring misses this season. However, he made up for it with an excellent finish for Dortmund’s second goal.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (6.5/10): Lacked proper service from the Dortmund playmakers throughout the game as the Gabonese International was hardly involved in any offensive actions.
Christian Pulisic (9/10): By far the best player of the night, Christian Pulisic was an active player throughout the ninety minutes. He looked terrifying with his menacing runs down at the defence as well as his strong linkup play with the other attackers.
Subs
Shinji Kagawa (8.5/10): Replaced Gonzalo Castro before the start of the second half and the move paid off well for head coach Peter Bosz. Kagawa successfully managed to improve Dortmund’s midfield dynamics after being introduced in the second half.
Raphael Guerreiro (7.5/10): Came on for Nuri Sahin just after the hour mark. The Portuguese looked very promising whenever he was on the ball but thanks to Dortmund’s lack of numerical superiority, he failed to create any chances for his team.
Andre Schurrle (NA): Had to come for a tiring Andriy Yarmolenko later on in the game, with coach Peter Bosz having one eye on the midweek’s Champions League clash against APOEL.
