Borussia Dortmund Player Ratings from a 4-0 Demolition of Wolfsburg | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund faced VfL Wolfsburg in another must-win game in their pursuit of European football. Fans weren’t disappointed, as the Black and Yellows put four past Wolsfsburg in the Westfalenstadion, earning another vital three points.

The first half was even, but an early goal from Serhou Guirassy put Dortmund ahead. The second half was where BVB showed their strength, putting together a team goal for Guirassy’s second, followed by a super-sub brace from Karim Adeyemi.

Once the second goal was scored, Wolfsburg became lethargic and never looked like they could fight back. Dortmund has done their job this week, and now we must wait and see how other results go. Until then, here are my Player Ratings for the 4-0 win

Defense

Gregor Kobel (8/10) – Kobel didn’t have too much to do, but he managed a pair of saves to earn his first clean sheet in two months.

Ramy Bensebaini (6/10) – Aside from assisting Adeyemi’s first goal, Bensebaini struggled with his positioning. He was beat in in important duals, leaving Svensson to cover for him on multiple occasions.

Waldemar Anton (8/10) – Anton had another strong game today, leading the back line and winning all of his aerial duals. He’s a big reason for BVB’s clean sheet.

Niklas Süle (7/10) – Süle is another player who has found new life under Niko Kovač. Süle gave us another strong display today, reminding us of his quality. He even had a great sprint toward the end of the match, though he fluffed his subsequent pass.

Midfield

Daniel Svensson (6/10) - Svensson was all over the pitch today, and he was pulled into defense a bit too much, where he’s less effective. Svensson was great at pressing today, but his passing accuracy was below what we’ve come to expect from him.

Pascal Groß (7/10) – It was good to see Groß back, as his midfield control brings stability to the side. His best play was a cheeky assist to Guirassy for the second goal.

Felix Nmecha (7/10) -  Nmecha had a pretty quiet game, but his pivot with Pascal Groß prevented a lot of attacking opportunities from forming in Wolsfburg’s attack. Nmecha even had a powerful strike, which was unfortunately blocked.

Julian Ryerson (7/10) – Ryerson isn’t always the most creative player, but he’s tenatious and can be quick when he needs to be. He worked a defensive shift, but still managed three successful dribbles, and five passes into the final third. Today he was quite creative.

Julian Brandt (9/10) – Please don’t hate me for this rating, I think Brandt deserves it. He put in a shift like the old Brandt. He didn’t just create chances, he created goals. Brandt provided the assist to Guirassy’s first goal, as well as Adeyemi’s second. His run to keep the ball in play ahead of Guriassy’s second goal was crucial to the goal itself.

Attackers & Subs

Jamie Gittens (4/10) – Jamie looks like he has one foot out the door.

Serhou Guirassy (9/10) – For only having about one touch every three minutes in this game, Guirassy was clinical when the ball was at his feet. The first was calm and collected, while the second was a masterful redirection of the ball.

Karim Adeyemi (10/10) – Adyemi was introduced as a second half substitute and scored twice while showing off some world-class dribbling. Need I say more?

Emre Can, Julien Duranville, Carney Chukwuemeka, Marcel Sabitzer (N/A) – None of these players was terribly influential, but Juju continues to show promise. It’s concerning how few minutes Chukwuemeka has played.

Niko Kovač (7/10) – I can only imagine Kovač’s choice to start Jamie Gittens comes from a place of optimism rather than pragmatism, a characteristic usually more in tune with the Croat. The European race is on, and BVB have limited opportunities to win matches, but every player out there wants to play in Europe next season. Yet it looks like Jamie Gittens doesn’t care. At this point, if Gittens keeps starting, we’re going to earn less from his transfer than if he rides the bench. Other than the opening goal, the half was lackluster. Our left flank was exploited and we got lucky a few times.

It was a tale of two halves, however, as the tactical adjustments Nico Kovač made helped BVB find that second goal. Perhaps it was Kovač’s intent to wear down Wolfsburg, a side he knows quite well, then unleash Adeyemi to kill the game off on a fatigued back line.