Player Ratings: Batshuayi helps Borussia Dortmund earn dramatic victory against Frankfurt

Borussia Dortmund left it late to beat Frankfurt in stoppage time on Sunday night. Here are the player ratings for Stöger’s side for the match.

Roman Bürki (6/10)

Letting in two goals never looks good for a keeper, but the Swiss international didn’t have a prayer of saving either one. It was his full-backs who’ll shoulder the blame for letting Frankfurt get on the scoreboard. In fact, Bürki had a remarkable save to keep the scores level early in the first half. Bürki played just fine.

Marcel Schmelzer (3/10)

Schmelzer, on the other hand, had a horrid game. Frankfurt’s first goal was entirely his fault. Schemlzer completely abandoned Luka Jović when defending a set piece, and the Frankfurt attacker promptly headed the ball into the back of the net. The goal was entirely the Dortmund captain’s fault.

On Frankfurt’s second goal, Frankfurt’s Danny da Costa made mincemeat of Schmelzer one on one. Da Costa turned Schmelzer around completely and whipped his low cross in.  It was mostly Łukasz Piszczek’s fault, as he completely failed to mark Danny Blum, who put da Costa’s ball in the back of the net with ease. But Schmelzer will not be happy with his defending on either of Frankfurt’s goals.

Ömer Toprak (6/10)

Toprak looked a bit sloppy occasionally and was saved by offside calls on a couple of occasions. He also got away with ball watching at least once. Those, though, are fairly minor complaints. Toprak was solid throughout the 90 minutes. He won an impressive six arial duels, per Whoscored.com, and generally made life difficult for Frankfurt’s attackers. Toprak has also begun to form good chemistry with Manuel Akanji in the heart of Dortmund’s defense. Dortmund fans will be excited to see what comes from their partnership going forward.

Manuel Akanji (6/10)

Akanji pressured Frankfurt’s attackers well and was an immense presence in Dortmund’s defense. In addition to being strong and quick, Akanji is an intelligent defender. As long as he’s between the ball and Bürki’s net, Dortmund can feel very secure. Akanji did have a bad tackle in the first half that earned him a yellow card. And while neither he nor Toprak can truly be blamed for either of Dortmund’s goals, Dortmund’s center-backs didn’t do much to prevent them either. But all told, it was a good performance from Akanji.

Łukasz Piszczek (6/10)

The majority of Piszczek’s impact on this game happened in last five minutes. First, his terrible marking of Danny Blum led to Frankfurt’s 90th minute equalizer. Truth be told Piszczek has struggled athletically in his old age. Despite being a key piece of Dortmund’s team, the Polish right-back is almost 33. Blum slipped past him with ease to put the ball in the net. Piszczek just can’t keep up defensively when facing quick attackers

Fortunately, Piszczek made up for his error just three minutes later. He put a bad Frankfurt clearance back into the box, perfectly placing it for Michy Batshuayi, who calmly slotted it home. It was a critical assist from Piszczek, who earned Dortmund the full three points from the game.

Mahmoud Dahoud (6/10)

The first 25 minutes of Dahoud’s performance were absolutely exquisite. He had a fantastic pass to Christian Pulisic to set up Dortmund’s first goal, and was generally sharp on the ball. He also put in a defensive performance, notching three tackles in 45 minutes per Whoscored.com, and immediately launching counterattacks. Dahoud has started to show his creativity and versatility in the number eight midfielder role.

Unfortunately, Dahoud earned himself a yellow card in the 26th minute and didn’t rein himself in. Putting in a defensive shift is a critical part of Dahoud’s role, but he had no control after he got himself booked. Stöger rightly took him off at half time, as the young German would certainly have earned himself a second yellow had he stayed on the pitch.

Gonzalo Castro (5/10)

Castro is just so average. He had a fine game, without too many poor passes, but didn’t really contribute to the game. Castro’s creativity going forward is essentially nonexistent, and he isn’t physical enough to be a factor defensively. The German midfielder’s workrate, though, was impressive. He was running all over the pitch in the second half, trying to keep his side in the game as Frankfurt gradually took control of the match. I guess Castro deserves a particpation award despite not contributing in any meaningful way.

Maximillian Phillip (6/10)

Phillip made his first start since he suffered that horrific injury, and this wasn’t a bad performance. He played a wonderful outside-of-the-boot pass to Pulisic to set up Dortmund’s first real scoring chance. Phillip played well and linked up with his fellow attackers successfully. It was a quietly solid performance from the young German.

Christian Pulisic (7/10)

This was Pulisic’s best game in months, and nabbed himself two assists in the process. The first was a vintage Pulisic cross into the box that ended up being an own goal. It was a brilliant ball across the face of goal that Marco Reus would’ve put in the back of the net if the Frankfurt’s Marco Russ hadn’t done it first.

The second was some brilliant interplay with Batshuayi for Dortmund’s first equalizer. Pulisic was generally sharp and played with intelligence throughout the 90 minutes. He’ll be happy with his performance, and Dortmund fans will hope this performance can break him out of his recent dip in form.

André Schürrle (5/10)

While he helped out defensively, Schürrle made some bad decisions and flubbed a few counterattacks. Those quick plays in transition are usually where he shines, but Schürrle even struggled there against Frankfurt. Truth be told, Schürrle has begun to regress to the player he’s been for most of his time at Dortmund. A couple of good (not great) performances earlier in the year have set expectations far too high for Schürrle. He just is not one of Dortmund’s best attacking players. Phillip, Pulisic, Reus and even Sancho have more talent than him and should be higher in the pecking order at his left-wing position.

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Marco Reus (6/10)

Reus was unlucky not to be directly involved in a goal against Frankfurt. By and large, he linked up well with his teammates. He was creative and threatening throughout his time on the pitch, but something always went awry at the last moment. It’s possible Reus is still a little rusty after coming back from injury, but it’s abundantly clear he’s the most talented player on Dortmund’s roster. Reus will be back on the scoresheet for Dortmund in no time.

Substitutes

Julian Weigl (4/10)

There isn’t a lot to say about Weigl’s performance. His passes were sloppy and his defense was poor. Weigl will take a bit of the blame on Frankfurt’s first goal as well, as he was somewhat close to Jović on the free kick. Weigl is stuck in a deep rut of form, and needs to break out of it as soon as possible.

Michy Batshuayi (9/10)

Dortmund tried their absolute best to drop points at home in the second half, but Batshuayi was having none of it. Batsman scored not one but two goals to give Dortmund the lead in the 30 minutes on the pitch. The second was a 93rd minute match winner (after Frankfurt equalized in the 90th).

Batshuayi’s performance was almost marred by some remarkably selfish play that wasted a three-on-two counter attack for Dortmund. It almost cost Dortmund the game, but Batshuayi’s heroism in the 93rd minute will leave that moment easily forgotten.

Batshuayi’s finishing on both goals was exquisite, and there’s no chance that Stöger will leave him on the bench again.