Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Borussia Dortmund: Player Ratings

Roman Bürki (8/10)

Perhaps, most will remember Bürki in this game because of the way Leverkusen scored their goal. Bürki had moved well towards the half way line after a poor clearance from his defence left a huge space. However, if it wasn’t for the Swiss keeper, things would have looked much worse. Bürki made a staggering 8 saves throughout the 90 minutes.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos (6/10)

Perhaps his best position in defence is one where he doesn’t have to move around a lot. The Greek centre-back has his issues with mobility and got caught quite sometimes. The RCB role was perhaps not his best spot and Sokratis paid the price with a poor performance.

Neven Subotić (6/10)

Subotic was uninspiring and that’s the best description one can give to his performance. Subotić hasn’t gotten a lot of playing time this season and was perhaps a little rusty. But in comparison to the commanding presence of Jonathan Tah on the other side, Subotić was meek and failed to win his duels with any consistency.

Marcel Schmelzer (6/10)

Despite reprising his role as an LCB, Schmelzer was techincally operating as a pseudo-LB. The captain made a number of runs into the opposition half and sent in some teasing crosses that turned the clock for a bit. However, his defensive work was not at the same level as his last outing.

Gonzalo Castro (6/10)

Perhaps it is a liottle unfair to give Castro a rating considering the fact that he had to be substituted. Castro’s injury was probably the moment that changed the game as it resulted in a red card for Wendell at the end of the first half.

Julian Weigl (6/10)

Weigl played a good portion of the game and offered a bit of control in midfield. The German was available for passes but didn’t receive as many as he should, with most of the play passing through his partner Şahin.

Nuri Şahin (7/10)

Şahin was easily one of BVB’s best performers. HE orchestrated plays, made quick passes and contributed to defence. As much as we all love Weigl and Dahoud, Şahin still remains the most dominant midfielder on the roster.

Raphaël Guerreiro (7/10)

This was a good performance from the Portuguese full-back. Operating in a comfortable midfield role, Guerreiro played a good game and maintained an 85% passing rate in an advanced role.

Andriy Yarmolenko (8/10)

If it wasn’t for Yarmolenko, BVB wouldn’t even have a goal. The Ukrainian was active in the final-third for the entire 90. His goal was the only thing that protected Bosz from a humiliating defeat.

Christian Pulisic (7/10)

Pulisic was good, attempting some important runs through the middle. However, he was not as productive as one would have hoped. The American has become a teenage sensation but is still raw and needs to mature.

Maximilian Philipp (NA)

Philipp got subbed out due to an early injury. Not enough playing time.

André Schürrle (7/10)

Brought on for Philipp, Schürrle had a good outing. He had an attempt strike the cross-bar while his well-placed cross resulted in Yarmolenko’s goal. A powerful performance capped off by an assist means that Schürrle has another shot at breaking into the first-team.

Shinji Kagawa (6/10)

Brought on for Castro in the final minutes of the first half, Kagawa had a decent outing. Unlike Castro who is a more defensive presence, Kagawa was a little more attacking.

Mahmoud Dahoud (6/10)

Replacing Weigl in the final half hour, Dahoud was perhaps not as effective as his fellow German. Dahoud passed well, but didn’t do much else.

The Team (6/10)

Apart from the defence, and midfield, which couldn’t contain Leverkusen, this was perhaps as good as Peter Bosz’s side can be without the pressure of a big game (read Schalke). BVB couldn’t create and registered only one shot before the red card – for comparison, Leverkusen had 8. BVB got lucky to have walked away with a point considering that they struggled to break down a defiant opposition with 10-men.

Peter Bosz (7/10)

Injuries forced his hand but Bosz lined his team up well. If only they could have held their own in defence, perhaps the result could have been different.

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Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Borussia Dortmund: Player Ratings; Terrible defensive showing from BVB

By Navjot Kasukurthy | Dec 3, 2017