Borussia Dortmund suffered a 1-0 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Marco Rose’s return to his former club.
It was an evening to forget for Borussia Dortmund as they were handed a 1-0 defeat by Borussia Mönchengladbach. Denis Zakaria opened the scoring for Gladbach in the 37th minute, and Mahmoud Dahoud was given a harsh red card soon after. And the Black and Yellows never really recovered from it, as they failed to register a single shot on target over the course of the 90 minutes.
With Erling Haaland and Marco Reus both missing the game through injuries, the Borussia Dortmund attack looked rather blunt. And Gladbach managed to secure the three points despite not being at their best.
Marco Rose’s side now find themselves four points behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga standings. Here are our player ratings for the Borussia Dortmund players from their 1-0 defeat to Gladbach.
Gregor Kobel (7/10)
Kobel did all he could to keep Borussia Dortmund in the game. He made some really good saves for his side, and was unlucky to be beaten by Zakaria’s strike.
Manuel Akanji (6/10)
Akanji won the majority of his duels and kept things tight on his end, especially in the second half. But his passing in the build-up play did not look as assured as usual.
Mats Hummels (7/10)
Hummels made sure that Borussia Dortmund stayed in the game until the end with some important last-ditch challenges. He had a few problems against the pacy Gladbach forwards at times, but still managed to keep them quiet for the most part. He also made a game high four interceptions.
Marin Pongracic (6/10)
Pongracic showed a fairly good account of himself. He looked confident with the ball at his feet and was aggressive with most of his challenges. But he was replaced by Thorgan Hazard at half time as Marco Rose changed the team’s formation to a back four.
Thomas Meunier (6/10)
Meunier made some vital blocks for his side and also made some dangerous forward runs. But with no Erling Haaland to head his crosses into the back of the net, he did not have much luck.
Axel Witsel (5/10)
Witsel managed to complete more than 95% of his passes and looked assured on the ball for the most part. But he took the safer option more often than not, even when Dortmund were desperately looking for an equaliser. He did manage to find Hazard in a good position with a lobbed pass late on, but the winger’s heavy touch meant that the chance was quickly gone.
Mahmoud Dahoud (4/10)
Dahoud received his first booking early in the game and was then sent off for a very harsh second yellow card in the 40th minute. The sending off pretty much sealed the game in Gladbach’s favour. And while the decision was harsh, both of his fouls were rather unnecessary.
Jude Bellingham (7/10)
Bellingham showed great determination and kept pushing to try and get Borussia Dortmund back in the game. Gladbach kept fouling him, but Bellingham kept getting up and fighting back. He worked hard to make things happen going forward. But his options were limited with Dortmund a man down and Reus and Haaland both out injured.
Raphael Guerriero (4/10)
Guerreiro made a poor back-heeled clearance in the build-up to Gladbach’s winner. He wasn’t able to make much of an impact going forward either.
Youssoufa Moukoko (4/10)
Moukoko wasn’t able to make any impact on the game and found it hard to get in behind the Gladbach defence. He only touched the ball 12 times before being replaced by Ansgar Knauff close to the hour mark.
Donyell Malen (4/10)
Malen really tried hard for the team, both offensively and in terms of tracking back. But he struggled to get involved in the game and never really looked like scoring. His only promising moment came at the start of the second half when he shouldered an effort wide of goal. He was replaced with ten minutes to go and Dortmund desperately searching for an equaliser.
Thorgan Hazard (4.5/10)
Hazard replaced Pongracic at half time. He was played in brilliantly by Axel Witsel, but wasn’t able to control the ball in time. He then had Dortmund’s best chance of the game late on, but he fired his header just over the bar.
Ansgar Knauff (4.5/10)
Knauff came on to replace Moukoko but wasn’t able to make the desired impact. He worked hard and tried to make things happen. But his attempts to get past the Gladbach players did not really work.
Marius Wolf, Nico Schulz, Reinier (N/R)
Reinier and Wolf played some encouraging passes and Schulz forced a save late on. But the trio only spent ten minutes on the pitch and did not have enough time to make an impact on the game.