Editor’s Note: At long last, the polling feature has returned! Thank you to Zac for working with SBN’s backend to get it set up.
Borussia Dortmund’s Matchweek 3 in the Bundesliga is in the books! A 3-0 win that wasn’t really sealed until late in the match. Regardless, a win with a clean sheet. Also, welcome back Nico Schlotterbeck! Today was the skipper’s first game back since his ankle injury during the World Cup.
Here are today’s candidates for Man of the Match.
Serhou Guirassy
Another match. Another sumptuous Guirassy
performance. He provided the assist to his partner-in-crime up top, Fabio Silva, for the opening goal in the 5th minute. Dortmund’s #9 had multiple goals called back due to offsides in the first half. He was a constant threat: 3 shots on target, created the most chances in the game, and the assist.
Fabio Silva
The “Robin” to Guirassy’s “Batman” (or perhaps vice-versa). The aforementioned Silva, scored Dortmund’s goal in the first half. He took Guirassy’s through ball, slid behind Paderborn’s defense at the midfield line, ran behind them, glided around Paderbon’s GK Nahuel Noll and tucked his finish neatly into the bottom corner of the goal. Three Bundesliga matches. Three goals. Ruthless efficiency from Silva.
Felix Nmecha
Two goals. Two levels of artistic brilliance for the super sub. The first was a one-two combo outside the box with his German counterpart Maximilian Beier, smashing the ball emphatically past Noll. The second, an early goal of the season candidate. See for yourself, courtesy of our Spanish friends:
Nico Schlotterbeck
As someone who recently sprained his ankle, the thought of playing competitive soccer any time soon is laughable… but so is the notion of comparing myself to our world class center-back. Here Schlotterbeck is, who just played his first match after suffering a medial ankle ligament tear on June 20th while playing for Germany against Côte d’Ivoire at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Despite being sidelined for over two months, missing Dortmund’s pre-season and the first few matches of 2026/27 campaign, BVB’s captain didn’t skip a beat. He played 77 minutes. From anchoring the defense with a clean sheet, to making multiple lunging tackles, no doubt as he starts getting more game time he’ll continue to bolster the backline – which after giving up five goals in the past two games – will be a welcome sigh of relief.
