Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Werder Bremen: Key talking points

Schlotterbeck and Kobel continue to impress despite the scoreline

Despite the eventual scoreline being a deflating 3-2 loss, both Nico Schlotterbeck and Gregor Kobel once again proved to be shining lights for BVB in yet another game this season. The pair have arguably been Dortmund’s strongest, and most convincing performers since the start of the league campaign.

In Kobel, Dortmund once again had a very alert, commanding keeper to protect their goal. He made multiple saves in both halves that were critical to getting Dortmund into position to win this game, even if it all went up in flames in the end.

Those in front of Kobel often put him in some very unnecessary situations. Emre Can in particular had a foul called outside the box, which resulted in a dangerous Werder free kick. But Kobel was there to smother this opportunity convincingly. It is very difficult to blame Kobel for the three goals conceded at the end because the goalkeeper was not at fault for situations that shouldn’t have occurred in the first place.

Schlotterbeck, for his part, was also once again defensively dominant, doing his best to shut down Bremen’s attacks as they occurred. Even when the German international did put a foot wrong, he was able to show the energy and initiative necessary to clean up after himself and not simply allow Bremen to run past him onto goal. His performance should be an example to the entire team as to how they should be defending.