Bayern Munich once again prevailed against arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund in their DFB Cup third round encounter on Wednesday night. The Bavarians had to work really hard to register a 2:1 victory over the Black and Yellows and seal a ticket to the next round.
Jerome Boateng’s early strike signalled a long night for the visiting Dortmund. Bayern then doubled their lead just before half-time through Thomas Muller but an improved Dortmund performance in the second half enticed the encounter, which finally ended 2:1 as the defending champions get knocked out in the third round of the competition.
Here are the Bayern Munich players rated and slated in their win over Dortmund.
Sven Ulreich (7.5/10):
Didn’t have to do anything really as Dortmund lacked penetration into the Bayern’s penalty area. He did, however, managed to pull off a stunning to save to deny Alexander Isak, a last minute equaliser.
Joshua Kimmich (7.5/10):
Wasn’t particularly impressive in his performance as a right back tonight. That being said, however, the German International was fairly solid in the right flank.
Jerome Boateng (8.5/10): Looked much better compared to his recent performances. The German International wisely used his aerial dominance to keep the BVB attack at bay. His clever header also opened the scoring in the first half.
Niklas Sule (8/10):
Although Boateng may have scored off the rebound, it was Niklas Sule’s thumping header which hit the goalpost before landing on the path of Jerome Boateng. The Hoffenheim defender looked fairly solid in defence as well.
David Alaba (8/10):
Made a couple of defensive mistakes, which could have proved to be much costlier for the Bavarians. Particularly, his mistake which leads to Yarmolenko’s glorious chance to equalize in the first half. However, his recovery was equally brilliant.
Javi Martinez (7/10):
Didn’t look all too comfortable, especially in the second half, where the likes of Mahmoud Dahoud and Julian Weigl made full use of his lack of pace.
Arturo Vidal (7.5/10):
Was instrumental in Bayern’s dominance in the first half but started losing his patience as Dortmund started to push for the equalizer in the second half. He made some silly fouls and also got owned on a couple of occasions by Christian Pulisic.
Thomas Muller (7.5/10):
Even though he wasn’t involved in every attacking moment for FC Bayern, Thomas Muller was very clinical in his attacking approach. His well-executed finish just before half-time proved to be the winner for the German champions.
James Rodriguez (8/10):
Was a very influential figure in the attacking third. The Colombian’s creativity helped Bayern create a shedload of chances early on, though his influence started to fade away in the second half.
Franck Ribery (9.5/10):
By far the best player on the night, Franck Ribery was an absolute beast on the left flank. His seemingly telepathic connection with David Alaba and some surgical runs into the opposition defence proved too much for Dortmund in the first half. The Frenchman definitely deserved to be on the scoresheet tonight.
Robert Lewandowski (7.5/10):
The Polish International wasn’t involved much in the attack tonight as Omer Toprak and Sokratis were rather solid in their approach to stop the former Dortmund striker.
Substitutes
Kingsley Coman (7/10):
Didn’t have too much influence on the proceedings as the youngster often spent his time defending the relentless Dortmund attacks for the final half an hour or so.
Corentin Tolisso (7/10):
Replaced James Rodriguez in the second half but didn’t make any significant impact.
Sebastian Rudy (N/A):
Was introduced in the final few minutes to instil more stability into the midfield.
