Borussia Dortmund player ratings from defeat to RB Leipzig

Jude Bellingham (6/10)

There are times when it feels almost criminal to even fault the performances of Jude Bellingham given the unrealistic level of responsibility placed on him at such a young age. He showed plenty of his qualities in this game. Often seeming to provide the only remote image of hope to unlock the Leipzig defense.

The young England international found himself cornered by Marco Rose’s energetic defensive press and kept finding creative ways to slip a pass through to Marco Reus or extend the play out wide. Though he gave the ball away which lead to Szoboszlai’s goal, you’d be hard pressed to place much blame on his shoulders given the number of times he bailed the team out of additional turnovers with world-class ball control and an unrelenting desire to influence positive passing movements when others seek to pass backward.

Jude accounted for the most tackles (7) and most dribbles completed (6) on the team. No other player completed more than 1 of the latter. Yes, you read that correctly.

Salih Ozcan (5/10)

Ozcan found himself matched against a lively and physical Leipzig motor in the name of Konrad Laimer and Xaver Schlager. It was interesting to watch the duels play out in what ended up primarily being a chaotic scramble in the middle of the field.

The performance on the day certainly shouldn’t discredit or downplay the impact that he’ll have working alongside Bellingham, but in this match, he experienced the overload of defensive responsibility that is both credited to Leipzig’s midfield and Dortmund’s failure to penetrate the opposition’s defensive third of the pitch.

Marco Reus (4/10)

Borussia Dortmund’s captain had a frustratingly restricted outing that left him with little to work with in terms of both time on the ball and options in terms of seeking out teammates supporting runs. Like Bellingham, there’s an enormous amount of expectation being placed on the veteran midfielder due to the injury situation at the club. Reus, Brandt, and Wolf were unable to find any avenue to exploit Leipzig’s defense.

Reus has thrived for years under the concept of having pacey attacking runs being made around him. Something he takes advantage of with precision and class. When those options aren’t available, he’s left to be swarmed by a Leipzig defense that can shift their focus to him and put pressure in numbers without having to worry about any potential consequences.