Borussia Dortmund vs SC Freiburg: Player Ratings

Borussia Dortmund were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw against SC Freiburg on Saturday.

You can read about the match highlights here on BVB Buzz. SC Freiburg came out the gates nearly scoring on Borussia Dortmund. Der Breisgau-Brasilianer then turned the match into an ugly snooze fest. Dortmund players were forced to possess the ball while their attack stagnated.

In the end, the match was irritating to watch, and was certainly not the title-winning squad I believe Dortmund are capable of being. Get ready for a series of average match ratings.

Starting XI

Roman Burki: 8

The Swiss keeper made a crucial save when Tim Kleindienst countered through the Dortmund backline. Other than that, he didn’t have too much to do during the match, as Der BVB dominated possession.

That being said, he has another clean sheet to his name.

Marcel Schmelzer: 6

Today was a tale of tragedy and woe. Not only for Borussia Dortmund, but for its beloved captain. He constantly covered for the center-backs who were being exposed again and again by Freiburg counterattacks.

I wish I could give him a higher rating, but Schmelzer had to come off in the 31′ after a nasty tackle hurt his ankle.

Marc Bartra: N/A

Bartra’s only contribution to the game was sideways passing to the other defenders and occasionally to a midfielder. Like I said earlier, he was one of Borussia Dortmund’s center-backs that was generally open to counterattacks.

Marc only played a total of about 18 minutes before being subbed off due to a muscle injury. Kicker has given the details about Bartra and Schmelzer’s injuries on their website.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 5

Sokratis was lucky Burki was there in the early minutes to save him, otherwise he would have an even lower rating. The Greek wall was raring to get a goal, however, as he took a number of long shots to test the Freiburg keeper.

His most notable accomplishment came late in the game. Sokratis put the ball in the box, being fouled in the process, and Aubameyang scored. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to mankind, the referee decided to go back and give the foul. The goal was disallowed and Dortmund were awarded a free kick. Overall not a good performance from our defensive leader.

Lukasz Piszczek: 6

Being the instigator he is, Piszczek’s first instinct was to attack. The problem is, the Polish fullback resorted to endlessly crossing the ball when tactics broke down. Defensively, Piszczek was solid as usual, and Freiburg didn’t pose too much of an attacking threat when they went down to 10 men. In the 81st minute he came flying in and nearly scored a header that went just wide of the Freiburg goal.

Nuri Sahin: 4

Sahin didn’t look anything like the player I saw against Berlin and Wolfsburg. His presence in the midfield went largely unnoticed. The center-backs needed a defensive midfielder to help them move the ball around intelligently. Normally he steps into that role, but Mario Gotze was forced to step back.

Gonzalo Castro: 5

Castro is another player that just didn’t have his way today. Castro occasionally surged forward but his attacks really never amounted to anything. His biggest accomplishment was a single cross that just slipped by Aubameyang.

His lack of creativity showed and in the end it would have been far better for Bosz to start Kagawa in this place.

Mario Gotze: 7

Gotze was the shining light in the midfield today (and probably the whole squad). He constantly set up the attacks in the final third. His movement and passes were typically intelligent and aggressive.

The German nearly got an assist, had it not been for Maxi Philipp booting the ball over the goal. All in all, Gotze had a good match. He’s been consistently building on his good performances, and looks like he’ll be the gem in Bosz’s midfield.

Maximillian Philipp: 5

Once again, Philipp failed to bag his first Dortmund goal. I still believe that with a bit of polishing on his game, he could become dangerous. Until then, Yarmolenko needs to start in his place. The German forward wasn’t very dangerous on the attack, but he at least put in constant work. I believe in the kid.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 4

The Gabonese forward went missing for long periods of time during the match. He missed a few chances that were given to him, the biggest being a cross from Castro.

The striker scored a legitimate goal late in the game, but the referee refused to play an advantage. As a result, it was disallowed, and Aubameyang was left wondering at what could’ve been.

Christian Pulisic: 4

Pulisic had the same problem as Aubameyang. There were periods of time where I forgot he was even on the pitch. He couldn’t finish a few golden chances, and in the end he needs to step it up if he wants be a regular starter under Peter Bosz.

Substitutes

Omer Toprak: 5

Toprak came into the game in the 18′ to replace an injured Bartra. His contribution to the match was about as silent as Bartra before him. Nothing particularly special from him, apart from constant passing.

Dan-Axel Zagadou: 6

The French defender came into the game in the 31′ to replace Schmelzer on the left flank. He put in a decent performance, especially considering the fact that he’s not a natural left-back.

The young defender needs to work on his quick decision making. There were many instances when the Freiburg pressing caused him to lose the ball too quickly.

Andriy Yarmolenko: N/A

The Ukrainian forward got to make his debut for Borussia Dortmund! I just wish it was under better circumstances, as he came in with ten minutes left to go in what was a horrible match.

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