Player Ratings: Borussia Dortmund earn dramatic draw against Freiburg
By Oliver Campo
Jeremy Toljan scored a last minute equaliser as Borussia Dortmund came from behind to draw 2-2 against Freiburg.
It was a poor performance by Der BVB as they looked bereft of ideas. After taking an early lead, they conceded two goals either side of half time after shocking defensive mistakes. The draw means that Borussia Dortmund end January without a league win, their third such month this season.
No player is bigger than the club rang true against Freiburg. Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finally started a game for BVB. Aubameyang did not solve his problems in this game as he failed to make an impact. The rest of team was left picking up scraps in the draw.
Roman Burki (4/10)
Burki and the rest of the defense got caught sleeping on what every player assumed was an out-of-bounds ball. Burki let an easy chance in front of him get away. The fans started whistling at the keeper since he let the goal in. He was so far off his line in the second half that he was easily beaten by Nils Peterson’s chip from 30 yards out.
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Lukasz Piszczek (6/10)
Lukasz Piszczek was vital to the first goal for BVB. His first attempt worked out well when the ball got to Kagawa. Piszczek continued his return to form as he provided many key passes into the box as the game wore on. He even had a great header against the keeper late in the game. Yet, Piszczek, for all of his effort, had a rough day.
Sokratis (5/10)
Sokratis played aggressively for Dortmund today. It was not a very big day for the Greek international as he only defended decently throughout the game. The defender was unable to prevent either goal from occurring.
Omer Toprak (5/10)
Toprak found himself in similar situations as Burki, Toprak let an easy ball get away from him and it became a counter-attack quickly. Luckily for him, he managed to save his performance beyond the blunder. Like Sokratis, he couldn’t have done much to prevent either goal.
Jeremy Toljan (6/10)
Toljan is proving himself to be a great signing in the left-back position. His partnership with Sancho on the left side is great and they are getting better each game. Today Toljan placed a few chances towards goal and managed to save the game for BVB at the end. Toljan drove a long-range shot into the back of the net in stoppage time. Toljan has secured his first-team spot within the defense at BVB. It is a matter of how Toljan continues to grow from this point.
Gonzalo Castro (4/10)
Castro got an early yellow card for an unnecessary challenge. Castro stayed in a more defensive area and providing long balls. It was a very average day for the center midfielder and he came off for Mario Gotze when the second half started. Frankly, he made a little impact like most players.
Nuri Sahin (3/10)
It was a poor day for Sahin, he was the indirect cause of the first goal and direct cause of the second goal. Beyond that, it was a hard game for a long time Dortmund player. He came off for Alexander Isak around 78 minutes as Dortmund looked for an equalizer. His back passes to Roman Burki constantly frustrated Dortmund fans, with boos ringing all around.
Shinji Kagawa (6/10)
Kagawa hit a beautiful side volley in the opening ten minutes to start Borussia Dortmund off in the right direction. That goal and his general effectiveness in the midfield was one of the saving graces in this match. It is sad to see a truly great player be frustrated as much as Kagawa is.
Christian Pulisic (5/10)
This was one of his most disappointing performances in a long time. Pulisic was invisible with the rest of the attack. The game dragged for the American as he failed to make an impact. Yarmolenko came on at the 66th minute to replace Pulisic.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (3/10)
Aubameyang’s off the pitch issues followed him on to the pitch today. During one of his short possessions with the ball, the fans whistled very loudly. His first half could not be more disappointing, but, he played the full 90 minutes. Seems that his heart was not on the pitch today and he may move to anywhere that isn’t Dortmund considering all that is happening.
Substitutes
Mario Gotze (4/10)
Mario Gotze knows that he put on a poor performance today. The second half was brutal for the midfielder as several mistakes came from this area. Gotze is a great player, but he was unable to offer anything close to a spark on the pitch.
Andriy Yarmolenko (5/10)
Yarmolenko built confidence when he came on for Christian Pulisic. The Ukrainian winger has an upswing with his form. Thankfully, he limited his attempts on goal and attempted to break down the defense with the team. Yarmolenko is not capable of being trusted on the right side, yet. There is a clear lack of connection between Yarmolenko and the rest of the players.
Next: Takeaways from Borussia Dortmund's 2-2 draw
Alexander Isak (N/R)
Honestly, I didn’t notice Isak was on the pitch until 7 minutes passed when he did come on. Needless to say, his performance for the short time he actively played was poor. The image of Isak that was painted for fans is not anywhere near close to the product they are getting.
Parting thoughts:
Peter Stöger, Michael Zorc, and Hans-Joachim Watzke are not turning the team into winning form. Stöger is temporary at best (3 points in January) and that is not likely his own fault. Stöger isn’t known for playing at 4-3-3, yet he is consistently using that formation. Zorc and Watzke’s public image is damaged and difficult to repair as this year is fairly disappointing for Borussia Dortmund.