Salih Özcan (6/10) – Salih brought some fresh energy into shoring up the defensive midefield, but he did little to impact the match.
Serhou Guirassy (7/10) – He came on as a substitute and did his job by scoring. I think Guirassy will also work well in this new front two under Kovač.
Felix Nmecha, Jamie Gittens, Almugera Kabar (N/A) – It was an important goal from Gittens for both his confidence and his value. Felix Nmecha’s return was welcome, and hopefully, he will be fit enough for more minutes in the coming matches.
Niko Kovač (8/10) – Kovač took much of what worked last week and applied it to this match, barring Nico Schlotterbeck’s involvement. The five-man midfield and front-two of Karim Adeyemi and Maxi Beier worked as well last week as they did this week, and Serhou Guirassy slotted into the system seamlessly. Kovač seems to be playing to his squad’s strengths, and it’s paying off. Not only is this a second consecutive league win, but it’s also another win against an opponent ahead of Dortmund in the league table.
Kovač also implemented smart substitutes in preparation for the midweek match, and I appreciated seeing Kabar get minutes when Dortmund was in the driver’s seat. These two wins give me more confidence than the last pair of wins, and this system appears to be something that might stick. This was the first of three consecutive away games, and I think that’s all the more reason this was a significant win for the club, players, manager, and yes, the fans especially.