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Wolfsburg 0-3 Dortmund: Review

By Alex Orillac

ALTACH, AUSTRIA - AUGUST 05: Felix Passlack of Dortmund handles the ball during the friendly match between AFC Sunderland v Borussia Dortmund at Cashpoint Arena on August 5, 2016 in Altach, Austria. (Photo by Deniz Calagan/Getty Images)
ALTACH, AUSTRIA - AUGUST 05: Felix Passlack of Dortmund handles the ball during the friendly match between AFC Sunderland v Borussia Dortmund at Cashpoint Arena on August 5, 2016 in Altach, Austria. (Photo by Deniz Calagan/Getty Images) /
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What a way to kick off the 2017/18 season!

The score told the whole story of the match which was mostly dominated by Dortmund. Die Borussen play solid pressing-football with lightning-quick attacks. Wolfsburg only had a handful of opportunities which were mostly off-target. With a final score of 3-0 in Dortmund’s favour, the Black and Yellows are currently sitting on top of the Bundesliga with a +3 goal difference.

SHENZHEN, CHINA – JULY 28: Roman Buerki of Borussia Dortmund in action during the 2016 International Champions Cup match between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund at Shenzhen Universiade Stadium on July 28, 2016 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
SHENZHEN, CHINA – JULY 28: Roman Buerki of Borussia Dortmund in action during the 2016 International Champions Cup match between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund at Shenzhen Universiade Stadium on July 28, 2016 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /

Individual Performances:

Bürki: 5/10
Bürki wasn’t needed that much today since he wasn’t challenged. He only conceded on an offside goal which he initially saved. Once again it wasn’t that Roman played poor, he was rarely challenged.
Piszczek: 5/10
Piszczek played way better than in the Super Cup 2 weeks ago. He was more solid on the right flank and was quick transitioning between attacks.
Sokratis: 6/10
Sokratis had a very solid game, stopping a striker such as Mario Gomez from scoring. He won important balls in Dortmund’s defensive half and was solid in the air.
Bartra: 8/10
Oh boy, did Marc surprise us all! The Spaniard scored a wonderful goal (I still believe he was trying to cross the ball) to put Dortmund 2-0 up before half-time. Defensively speaking he was mostly quiet but was pretty good winning headers.
Zagadou: 6/10
To be honest, I thought seeing Zagadou in the starting XI as a fullback once again after his disastrous match against Bayern would be a recipe for disaster but I was wrong. The Frenchman showed why his strength plays a key role in his style. He played excellent on the left side of the pitch until he was subbed off due to a minor injury.
Gotze: 8/10
Mario returns to pitch after a six-month absence with a banger. He assisted the first two goals and was quick playing on the counter-attack. Gotze will surely be seen a lot more as the season progresses.
Sahin: 5/10
Sahin had a quiet, lacklustre game. He did what was required of him like pressing and passing the ball but that was it.

Castro: 5/10
Same as Sahin, Castro had a quiet game. Apart from missing a shot on goal early in the first half he remained mostly composed and quiet. He made decent passes in the attacking third.
Pulisic: 10/10
Captain America has done it again. He completely outclassed the Wolfsburg defence and made us forget completely about Dembele. His finishing was on point and his pinpoint passes were always accurate. I’m excited for what he will bring to the team in the rest of the season.
Aubameyang: 6/10
Auba was completely shut down today, despite managing to score a goal after a perfect pass from Pulisic. The Gabonese international struggled to get behind the defence and as a result of that, took only 2 shots in the whole game. He is still pure-class, it’s just a matter of time before he finds his mojo.
Philipp: 5/10
Max played decently on his debut with Dortmund. He had a chance to score a header but he missed it. To be fair to him, it was a great effort. Philipp can still develop as the season progresses but today wasn’t his game.

GUANGZHOU, CHINA – JULY 18: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund celebrates a goal with Christian Pulisic and Nuri Sahin during the 2017 International Champions Cup football match between AC milan and Borussia Dortmund at University Town Sports Centre Stadium on July 18, 2017 in Guangzhou, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
GUANGZHOU, CHINA – JULY 18: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund celebrates a goal with Christian Pulisic and Nuri Sahin during the 2017 International Champions Cup football match between AC milan and Borussia Dortmund at University Town Sports Centre Stadium on July 18, 2017 in Guangzhou, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /

Conclusion

Winning is always great and it’s even better when you are on top of the table. This solid performance by the boys showed us a couple of things. First, Bosz is the boss. His pressing philosophy was warmly welcomed by the boys and the system is starting to blossom. There were almost no negatives regarding today’s game. Secondly, I think it’s safe to say that Dembele is free to go. Sure, his talent brings up a different way to play the game but damn, our Captain America can surely be a match for him. If Pulisic can keep up putting performances like this one we could see ourselves fighting for the Bundesliga title.

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