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Clean sheets and Tigges goals – Saturday was a game of firsts for Borussia Dortmund. BVB finally kept their clean sheet in the Bundesliga, en route to a 2-0 victory over FC Cologne. The three points keep Dortmund one point behind league leaders Bayern Munich. At the start of the season, if someone had offered us 24 points out of 30 possible after ten games, I think everyone would have taken it!
In truth, Dortmund’s performance was not the best we’ve seen this season, and Cologne was quite our equal. This is reflected in the xG of the match, with Dortmund at 1.3 and Cologne at 1.4, but BVB was the more clinical of the two teams, earning them the victory.
Here are our scores from Saturday’s game:
Gregor Kobel
Paul: 8
Very happy that Kobel gets his first clean sheet in the Bundesliga with Dortmund. He earned a few more, but he finally got some on a Saturday, and he put his body on the line to get it!
Nick K .: 8
He’s been our signing of the season so far, and this performance just confirmed it even more.
Hummels rugs
Paul: 6
Nick K .: 6
Manuel Akanji
Paul: 7
Nick K .: 6
Marin Pongraci
Paul: 6
Nick K .: 6
Marius Wolf
Paul: 7
By the end of this season, he will have played at least 10 minutes in every position on the pitch for BVB.
Nick K .: 7
I love what I saw of a guy who looked like a bad signing years ago. He’s become a hell of a winger and I hope he sees more of the pitch.
Thomas Meunier
Paul: 7
Thomas Meunier should remind us that not everyone is rushing, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good!
Nick K .: 7
Yes, no more good Miller, please. He’s improved dramatically from last season and I really like him in Rose’s system on both sides of the ball.
Axel witsel
Paul: 4
Witsel just doesn’t have it anymore and he feels like a handicap every time he’s on the pitch. It is very unfortunate to see.
Nick K .: 5
He’s decent defensively, but those killer passes Witsel was known for when he first arrived feel like so long ago. It’s sad to see, because he’s loved so much and he’s a team manager, but I don’t see Witsel staying at Dortmund after this season.
Jude bellingham
Paul: 7
Nick K .: 7
Another excellent performance from Bellingham. His help to Hazard was special.
Julien brandt
Paul: 7
I thought Brandt was one of the best players in BVB yesterday. He was instrumental in both goals, securing the assist on the second, and he was shaking things up. We were hoping to start seeing a little more of Brandt under Marco Rose, and there are signs it’s happening.
Nick K .: 6
I thought Brandt played well. He got the assist on Tigges’ goal, and there were times he looked very dangerous, but I also saw 20/21 Brandt moments throughout the action. It’s a step in the right direction for him, but I want to see more consistency from him before I start shouting “Brandt is Back†from the rooftops.
Marco reus
Paul: 6
Nick K .: 6
He needs to be better. He had several chances to put the ball in the net, but he failed to do so. He wasn’t bad, but his overall performance left a lot to be desired.
Thorgan danger
Paul: 8
Nick K .: 7
Ended Bellingham’s pass with a nice header and looked dangerous throughout the game. If he can stay healthy, I would expect to see the same from Toto.
Donyell malen
Paul: 4
Another difficult performance for Malen. He was just pushing things a little too much, but making everything a little too obvious. He will be fine, but Saturday’s performance was not his best.
Nick K .: 3
I was skeptical of his signing, and that doesn’t help. He has to be better in front of goal and with the ball on his feet, otherwise he isn’t going to last long at Dortmund if he doesn’t start producing.
Steffen Tigges
Paul: 7
It was good to see Tigges finally score his goal, and it came at the right time for BVB. They had to put the game to bed, and Tigges did just that. Hopefully he can build on that and be a reasonable goal threat off the bench.
Nick K .: 7
I love Tigges and I’m happy he finally scored his goal in Dortmund. It features different things from Haaland and Malen, and I’d love to see more of it there.
Felix Passlack
Paul: 5
Nick K .: 5
Did nothing to stand out, positively or negatively.
Ansgar Knauff
N / A
Paul: 7
I think a 7 could be a little generous, because the truth is that Cologne were the better team for the majority of the game, but I’m ready to be a little generous because BVB finally kept their clean sheet! Also, there is something to be said for a team that gets the job done, with few hiccups, despite being dominated.
Nick K .: 6
I want to give this a lower rating because it didn’t feel like a well-deserved win. Cologne had more possession and infinitely more chances to score, so it’s not great. But thanks to the combination of a great goalkeeper, solid defense and a bit of VAR, Dortmund got their first Bundesliga clean sheet of the season, so that’s good! I would have liked more of a full performance from Dortmund, but a win is a win.
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