Borussia Dortmund player ratings from hapless 2-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund entered the Deutsche Bank Park bank needing to produce a reaction to their two previous losses. Nuri Sahin had his entire squad apart from Niklas Süle, and Frankfurt’s star striker, Omar Marmoush was absent ahead of his imminent transfer to Manchester City. Yet Dortmund’s away form has been anything but stellar this term.

Sahin opted to change his tactical system again and we saw some glimpses of the fluid attack this squad tried producing at the beginning of the season. Yet communication between the attacking players was lacking, and frustration could be seen across numerous players’ faces.

While the return of the Schloterbeck-Anton pairing in central defense helped prevent Frankfurt from completely embarrassing Dortmund, the overall squad cohesion was absent, and chance creation was kept to a minimum. Dortmund can retain the vast majority of possession while doing so little with the ball. In a nutshell, this display was creatively deficient.

Frankfurt’s first goal, scored through Hugo Ekitiké, cut through Dortmund’s defense like a hot knife through butter, and the stoppage-time goal was the result of poor positioning, communication, and ball control. Emre Can doesn’t deserve the full blame for that mistake, but he needs to do better. Frankfurt showed in this match they’re the superior team to Borussia Dortmund. BVB and Nuri Sahin desperately need a win in Champions League next week, or I fear the season will drift into the territory of unsalvageable. In the meantime, here are the player ratings from the 2-0 loss to Frankfurt.

Gregor Kobel (6/10) – Kobel made a couple of big saves but should have done better against Ekitiké’s opening goal, which was scored at close-range. There was little he could do against the second concession which Oscar Højlund secured in a one-on-one situation.

Julian Ryerson (5/10) – Ryerson is a tenacious player and I can respect that, but he was utilized far too much in the attacking third, which caused him to struggle. Most of his defending was late as he sprinted to track back and won fewer ground duals than he should be.

Waldemar Anton (7/10) – Anton’s return to the Starting XI was much needed and he played an impactful role throughout the match. He recovered the ball ten times, won most of his duals, and even managed a trio of interceptions.

Nico Schlotterbeck (7/10) – Schlotterbeck has been one of Dortmund’s most consistent players despite the poor run of form. In this match he made several key tackles and prevented the score line from drifting too far into the red. Schlotterbeck’s leadership on the pitch can’t be understated.

Ramy Bensebaini (4/10) – This was a very poor display from Bensebaini. His passing was subpar, and his corner kicks never looked dangerous. There was a reason he was replaced at halftime, and we deserve better from the Algerian International

Emre Can (5/10) – Emre Can made over 100 accurate passes, but the vast majority of those were backward or lateral. When he did make passes into the final third, they rarely reached their intended target in a dangerous area. His mistake was a big contributor to Frankfurt’s second goal as well.

Pascal Groß (7/10) – Pascal Groß’s return to action was also a boon for Dortmund. The German International was utilized heavily in the midfield and was perhaps the only player with the proper profile to fit Nuri Sahin’s tactics, being the only player who could accurately pass a long-ball.

Felix Nmecha (6/10) Nmecha was absent from large parts of this game and had few touches than someone in his position should. Aside from a few promising moments on the ball, he didn’t make any impact

Jamie Gittens (6/10) – Gittens highlighted his talent through several impressive dribbles, but Frankfurt was always ready to make the block, rendering him ineffective. He really should have been using his teammates more in the final third.

Julian Brandt (5/10) – Brandt was used as a winger in this match, so I can’t entirely blame him for this abysmal performance. His passing was lackluster, his tackles were poor, and he couldn’t hold onto the ball.

Serhou Guirassy (5/10) – for every promising play Guirassy created, there was another in which he’d flop to the ground. For a guy who is over six feet tall, he goes down far too easily and even earned an embarrassing yellow for his penalty protestation after he collided with Gittens. Guirassy is talented, but he’s trying too hard to draw contact than he is trying to score from open play. That’s a problem.

Yan Couto (7/10) – Yan Couto made an immediate impact when starting the second half, and helped Dortmund put some pressure on the home side. I think this was a promising sign of things to come.

Karim Adeyemi (6/10) – When Adeyemi was on the ball, he looked good, even mustering a pair of shots. He should have been introduced earlier.

Maxi Beier (4/10) – Beier did very little, only managing five touches in his twenty minutes.