Borussia Dortmund player ratings vs Köln: Gregor Kobel stars in 2-0 win

Thomas Meunier (6/10)

Meunier did the job asked of him defensively but wasn’t able to make as many forward runs as he would have liked. He had a half-chance to open the scoring early on but failed to really test the goalkeeper. He then set up an opportunity for Marco Reus with a squared pass that went just beyond the BVB captain.

Axel Witsel (5/10)

As expected, Witsel had a difficult time against Köln and wasn’t able to make the impact that Marco Rose would have liked. His lack of pace hurt the team at times in the first half. And he also failed to wrestle back control in midfield after the break. He did manage to improve a bit in the second half, especially after the change in formation. But Dortmund were still second best in the midfield battle.

Jude Bellingham (7/10)

Bellingham produced a moment of magic to set up Thorgan Hazard for Borussia Dortmund’s opener. With Köln dominating the game, he was asked to do more defensive work than he would have liked. And that, in turn, also affected Dortmund’s attacking play.

Julian Brandt (7.5/10)

It was another encouraging performance from Brandt, who is finally finding a bit of consistency this season. He helped set up the opening goal and then delivered the cross for Steffen Tigges’ header. Slowly but surely, Brandt is showing just how good he can be. And he is finding his form at the perfect time for Borussia Dortmund.

Marius Wolf (6/10)

Wolf delivered another solid performance from left wing-back and was also given a nice ovation from the crowd after being substituted. He created a really good chance in the first half that was spurned by Marco Reus, but did not make too much of a splash going forward after that. He was still very active defensively and won the majority of his challenges.