Borussia Dortmund suffered their first defeat of the calendar year on Tuesday evening, as Chelsea knocked them out of the UEFA Champions League.
Borussia Dortmund have been eliminated from the UEFA Champions League after Chelsea turned their round of 16 tie around in the second leg to win 2-1 on aggregate. It was a night to forget in London for the Black and Yellows, as they were handed a heartbreaking defeat.
Goals from Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz either side of half-time helped Chelsea secure their place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League at Borussia Dortmund’s expense. Edin Terzic’s side looked overawed by the occasion, and not much went right for them over the course of the 90 minutes.
Chelsea deserved to go through, but were helped significantly by some controversial refereeing and the early injury suffered by Julian Brandt. Here are our player ratings for the Borussia Dortmund players from their 2-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Alexander Meyer (6/10)
Meyer made a few decent saves for Borussia Dortmund in the first half. But he also had some very sloppy and careless moments that could have been easily punished on another day. Kobel’s absence between the sticks meant that BVB looked vulnerable time and time again, even though Meyer did his best.
Marius Wolf (5/10)
Wolf wasn’t able to impact the game going forward, with his crosses finding a Chelsea header more often than not. He also gave away the penalty that eventually resulted in the winning goal. While the penalty call was rather harsh, he will feel that he should have positioned his arm closer to his body to make sure that the referee did not have a decision to make.
Niklas Süle (4/10)
Süle was caught out of position in the build up to Chelsea’s first goal. The Germany international should have done a better job of trying to prevent the cross from coming into the box. He looked careless in defence on a number of occasions in the first half.
Nico Schlotterbeck (5/10)
Schlotterbeck fared slightly better than his defensive partner, but some of his decision making was also questionable. His battle against Kai Havertz was a hard fought one, and kept him busy for the majority of the evening.
Raphael Guerreiro (4/10)
Guerreiro had a near-chance to score late in the first half, but wasn’t able to control Jude Bellingham’s pass in time. He struggled to make any impact in attack and also had problems against Raheem Sterling and Reece James defensively.
Emre Can (6/10)
Emre Can kept things tight for the most part in midfield, and also made several crucial interceptions for his side. He did make a few poor decisions on the ball, but did win most of his duels.
Salih Özcan (4/10)
Özcan got overrun in midfield once again, and was often caught chasing bodies. He couldn’t get involved in the game, and touched the ball just 30 times despite spending 63 minutes on the pitch in midfield. Mahmoud Dahoud no doubt deserves a run of games in Özcan’s spot.
Jude Bellingham (4/10)
Bellingham had an off night by his lofty standards. His decision making wasn’t the best, and that led to a few frustrating turnovers. The England international also looked somewhat nervous at times in the final third and missed BVB’s best chance to score in the second half.
Julian Brandt (N/R)
Brandt was forced to come off early in the game after sustaining an injury. His absence was sorely felt in the Borussia Dortmund attack.
Marco Reus (4/10)
Reus will be disappointed with his defending for Sterling’s goal. In attack, he forced a good save from Kepa with a free-kick. Other than that, he was kept quiet for the majority of the game.
Sebastien Haller (4/10)
Haller wasn’t able to get involved in the game and had to drop deep to get on the ball. It wasn’t until after his departure from the pitch that Borussia Dortmund began to actually put in crosses into the box.
Gio Reyna (4/10)
Reyna came on to replace Julian Brandt and put in another frustrating performance. He wasn’t able to make any impact on the game
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Donyell Malen (N/R)
Both Bynoe-Gittens and Malen looked pretty ordinary after coming on, but did not spend enough time on the pitch to earn a rating.