BVB couldn’t overcome a resurgent RB Leipzig side, despite playing at home on the back of a Champions League victory. Dortmund head into the international break with a formidable matchday on the horizon, heading to Munich to close the gap to the league leaders. BVB will be frustrated to have made their job harder, but to Leipzig’s credit, they earned their point at the Westfalenstadion.
Here are the ratings from the match.
Starting XI
Gregor Kobel
Zac: 7
Kobel made several important saves to keep his side in the match. He will
be frustrated to have broken the streak of clean sheets, but that’s not really on him.
Paul: 6
Ramy Bensebaini
Zac: 6
Several important tackles and good offensive input as well. There has been some chatter about Bensebaini being “out of position” at center-back, but for how long he has been doing it for BVB, and doing it well, I do not see an issue.
Paul: 7
I thought Bensebaini was solid on both sides of the ball, and he did really well to play Beier in behind Leipzig’s defense for BVB’s goal.
Waldemar Anton
Zac: 5
Really nothing to note, kind of found himself in no man’s land for Leipzig’s goal, which is not necessarily uncommon for Anton.
Paul: 5
Nico Schlotterbeck
Zac: 7
Physical, imposing, and energetic. Dortmund needed Schlotterbeck badly, and he has reinvigorated the defense. He also did well to avoid a second yellow card for 84 minutes.
Paul: 7
Schlotterbeck has slotted right back in since returning from injury. On Saturday he was a pillar in defense.
Yan Couto
Zac: 7
Couto was completely beaten in the build-up to Leipzig’s goal, but after that, he defender pretty well, and made up for his error with Dortmund’s only goal.
Paul: 6
Couto was weak on Leipzig’s goal and he went up the other end (though he certainly wasn’t the only one) and scored the equalizer. Good to see a player right their own wrongs.
Daniel Svensson
Zac: 7
Mr. Hard Work.
Paul: 7
Felix Nmecha
Zac: 6
Not a ton to note from Nmecha’s game. He did well to interrupt transition play and support the offense, but did not really move the needle in the match.
Paul: 5
Marcel Sabitzer
Zac: 6
See “Felix Nmecha” above.
Paul: 5
I thought BVB were too often overrun in midfield. It’s not so much that either of Nmecha or Sabitzer were poor, but Leipzig’s midfielders got the better of them on Saturday afternoon.
Karim Adeyemi
Zac: 6
Adeyemi shows he is human and fails to have an enormous impact on the match. That said, he was still Dortmund’s brightest creator in the first half. As the game wore on and his legs grew tired, Adeyemi was unable to turn fast feet into fortune. Not for want of trying.
Paul: 6
Maximilian Beier
Zac: 3
This was a pretty woeful match for Beier, at a time when he cannot really afford woeful matches (see “Fabio Silva” below). If Adeyemi was out there driving at the defense, albeit without much luck, Beier was just out there. Beier did not really threaten, and his touch let him down on multiple occasions. I really like Beier, but his seat is getting hotter.
Paul: 6
Beier was key in the buildup for BVB’s equalizing goal, and he made himself useful as a creative outlet at times, even if it didn’t always come together for him.
Serhou Guirassy
Zac: 7
If Dortmund want to wait until the 70th or 80th minute to whip desperation crosses into the box, then maybe we should be starting Fabio Silva and bringing Guirassy on as the substitute. It seemed like almost immediately after his departure, Dortmund started swinging Guirassy-esque balls into the penalty area. Since they waited until Guirassy was gone to get after it, he was starved of service all game. Still, he managed to dig out an assist to Yan Couto with excellent body positioning.
Paul: 6
Guirassy was smart to lay the ball off for Couto’s goal, but otherwise he didn’t get much of a look in. I’m not sure I’d really blame him for that, though.
Substitutes
Julian Ryerson
Zac: 5
Pretty ineffective going forward, and not super convincing in defense either.
Paul: 6
Jobe Bellingham
Zac: 6
Getting some credit from me here for that tussle with Banzuzi against the sideline. That was impressive physicality and effort.
Paul: 5
Julian Brandt
Zac: 5
Paul: 6
Fabio Silva
Zac: 7
Very encouraging performance again that almost resulted in a goal. Silva showed good awareness and chemistry with his teammates and was unlucky not to win the game for BVB.
Paul: 6
Pascal Groß
Zac: 5
Hot and cold. He helped drive BVB forward, but his final product was lacking.
Paul: 5
Overall
Zac: 6
Standard issue Bundesliga draw to the tin cans… bleh. It could be much worse. Dortmund need to keep the train rolling, and while a draw to RB Leipzig is annoying, it certainly is not a derailment. The cans are looking better and better, and BVB could have been caught out on the back of a midweek win. They kept it professional, albeit a bit underwhelming, and walk away with a point. Each of the defense, midfield, and attack seems to be functioning, but not exactly firing. It’s like Kovac has them 80-85% of the way there as a squad. Whether it’s a minor personnel tweak or a mentality shift, Dortmund are close to being where they need to be to think about getting something from this season. Drawing Leipzig is an important litmus test for Kovac and the coaching staff to evaluate where the team stands as we get past the early match days.
Paul: 6
It was a bad match, but it wasn’t a bad performance. In reality, I think this was just two good sides cancelling each other out. It happens. It is just a bit of a tough watch. Some things worked (Schlotterbeck was a rock, Svensson and Bensebaini put in good offensive performances), some things didn’t (the midfield struggled and the offense didn’t really get going), but this game didn’t really change my perception of this team. BVB are pretty good. I think I am a little higher on Leipzig than most, though, so a stalemate seems fine.
Now comes the real test, after the international break, against Bayern Munich!
Your Thoughts?
What did you make of BVB’s performance? What are you looking forward to in the international break? Let us know in the comments.
