It’s never easy traveling to Freiburg. The small town in Baden-Württemberg has evolved into a Bundesliga stable over the last decade, and many teams struggle when visiting Europa-Park Stadion. Dortmund had to pick themselves up against a very frustrating draw against Bodø/Glimt in the midweek and prove that they can still be somewhat consistent in their performances. In the first half, the Black and Yellows were on top, and they almost went in front after some good interplay between Guirassy and Chukwuemeka
in the box. Unfortunately, the shot hit the post. After around half an hour of play, Bensebaini popped up at the back post and brought Dortmund 1-0 in front—a lead I would say was deserved at that point. The game totally fell apart in the 53rd minute after a horrible pass out from Gregor Kobel, which forced Jobe Bellingham to stop Phillip Treu who had a run through on goal. I don’t even think Bellingham noticed Treu until he rushed to the ball, but he shouldn’t really be forced into a situation like this, ever. Lucas Holer managed to equalize around the 75th minute mark with an amazing half bicycle kick that Gregor Kobel could do absolutely nothing about. From there on out, it was all Freiburg—mostly with half chances. Kobel almost managed to throw the entire game away after Freiburg scored on a corner that was initially a result of his failed clearance. Lucky for him that the goal was ruled offside. BVB lost all ability to compete after the red card, and while it is of course fine that you aren’t able to square up against a team one-to-one with a man down, I still think Dortmund had way too little time in Freiburg’s half. There are worrying signs around the team and their ability to create chances and goals at the moment—something that Niko Kovac will have to address rather quickly if this season is still to be considered a success.
Here are my MOTM nominees for the 1-1 draw against Freiburg:
Ramy Bensebaini
Not a spectacular game by Bensebaini by any means, but he did good for himself in defense, and he managed to score BVB’s only goal on the night. He also made a couple of good clearances when Dortmund were really under pressure. In short, I think he is the least to blame when looking at the end result today.
Emre Can
I also think Emre Can, just like Bensebaini had a pretty stellar performance in defense. I don’t think he was as good, but he managed most of what Freiburg had to throw at him. A fine day at the office despite the somewhat disappointing result.
Yan Couto
I think Yan Couto was probably Dortmund’s best offensive outlet tonight, and he has had a fine run of games as of late. Once again, the Brazilian found himself in good crossing positions on the right, and he also had some nice raids with the ball upfield. No—not everything he does always comes off, but I’m quite sure Dortmund’s ball progression would have suffered quite a lot, had Couto not been on the field tonight.
Gregor Kobel
Yeah—I know. He basically threw the three points. But then again—he also managed to save a point with some huge saves on Treu and Suzuki. One of them was a deflection where he managed to just get a fingertip on it and tap it onto the bar. Question is whether these chances from Freiburg would even have been relevant to talk about, had he not sold out Jobe. Some good and some bad things from him tonight—mostly bad.
Your MOTM?
Who was your MOTM? And more importantly—how do you asses BVB’s performances as of late? Are we in huge trouble, or can this ship be turned around? Let me know in the comments below!
