Borussia Dortmund were incredibly unlucky to draw against Frankfurt in the second round of the DFB-Pokal, and the game proved to be just as tight as expected. It was the old boys coming back to haunt BVB
in the first half, as Ansgar Knauff opened the scoring early off a Mario Götze assist. Julian Brandt levelled things up early in the second half, tapping home a brilliant cross from Julian Ryerson. It stayed 1-1 all the way through the rest of regular and extra time. Penalties proved decisive, with Fabio Silva, Niklas Süle, Felix Nmecha and Carney Chukwuemeka scoring, while Ritsu Doan blazed over and Gregor Kobel denied Fares Chaibi.
It was 1-1 after 120 minutes, but BVB won 4-2 on penalties and they head on to the third round. Here are your nominees for Man of the Match.
Gregor Kobel
Frankfurt were happy to shoot from distance, peppering Dortmund’s Swiss stopper with some good long-range efforts. He was equal to all of them, making six saves, and saving Chaibi’s penalty to win the tie.
Julian Ryerson
Had an unusually poor first half, but reminded everyone exactly why he’s the undisputed starter on the right with a sensational fizzing cross to Brandt for the leveller. Soldiered on through injury as well, as Kovac had used all his subs. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.
Julian Brandt
Brandt was unconvincing the last time he started, and he probably could’ve gotten involved more today, but he did score the all-important goal for Dortmund. It’s also clear that their game flows much better with him than without.
Niklas Süle
The final could’ve gone to Nico Schlotterbeck, who was a tower for the majority of his 120 minutes, but he did have that poor clearance that started the chain of events leading to Dortmund conceding and Süle did score his penalty. A very impressive substitute appearance overall as well.
Your Thoughts?
Who impressed you the most? Let us know!
