Borussia Dortmund, although disappointing on the night, maintained their winning start to their Bundesliga campaign with an excellent second-half performance against Christian Streich’s Freiburg,, digging deep to secure a comeback after finding themselves 1-0 after 35 minutes.
Freiburg – 1 (Gregoritsch)
Mark Flekken, 5 – Horrendous loss of concentration to spill Bynoe-Gittens’ shot into his goal. Had been solid up until that moment, but his mistake was the moment that changed the game for the worse, from a Freiburg perspective.
Kiliann Sildillia, 6 – Defensively solid, which allowed Günter to go forward on the opposite wing. An encouraging display from the young defender, who has looked good in the first two games of the season.
Matthias Ginter, 6 – Did extremely well to beat out three opposing defenders for the header that assisted Gregoritsch’s goal. His decision to step forward to halt the build-up play for Moukoko’s goal didn’t work out.
Philipp Lienhart, 6 – Alert defensively for most of the game and cut out many of Dortmund’s forward passes. Missed a vital 50/50 challenge to stop Brandt from setting up Moukoko’s goal.
Christian Günter, 7 – A continuous threat down the left flank while also defensively solid. Pinpoint left-foot crossing throughout and combined well with Grifo in attack. Couldn’t stop Wolf from cutting inside to score the third goal.
Maximilian Eggestein, 7 – Never allowed his counterparts any time on the ball before winning it back. Provided great support for his teammates both in attack and when under pressure.
Lucas Höfler, 7 – The unsung hero of Freiburg who disrupted Dortmund’s midfield frequently with his defensive efforts. No player ran more than the veteran.
Ritsu Dōan, 7 – A creative threat throughout the game. Used his speed and nifty footwork effectively to give Guerreiro problems out wide. Already looks to be a very good summer signing.
Roland Sallai, 8 – Maintained a relentless level of pressure to force turnovers from Dortmund. Had a few chances to score himself in a very good performance.
Vincenzo Grifo, 7 – Dangerous set-piece delivery caused all sorts of problems. Couldn’t create shots for himself but was a key creative influence for the home side.
Michael Gregoritsch, 8 – Superb header to give his team the lead. Competed hard against Dortmund’s centre-backs aerially and looks to have fit in seamlessly at his new club.
Others: Nils Petersen (6), Daniel Kofi-Kyereh (-), Noah Weißhaupt (-)
Borussia Dortmund – 3 (Bynoe-Gittens, Moukoko, Wolf)
Gregor Kobel, 6 – Helpless to stop Gregoritsch’s header from looping into his goal. Otherwise, he made the necessary saves when called upon to give his team a chance to come back into the match.
Thomas Meunier, 4 – Overwhelmed at times against the duo of Günter and Grifo and couldn’t make an impact in attack. Substituted at half-time after an early yellow card.
Mats Hummels, 6 – Outjumped by Gregoritsch for the opening headed goal. Looked beaten by the veteran forward at times, but otherwise his passing was solid and made some key blocks after the goal.
Nico Schlotterbeck, 6 – A happy return for the German international, thanks to his team’s comeback. Didn’t have as big an impact as the previous week, but his accurate passing and composure helped Dortmund overcome the opposition’s pressure.
Raphaël Guerreiro, 6 – Looked vulnerable defensively against the dangerous Dōan. Didn’t get many opportunities to burst forward and create any overloads on the left-flank.
Mahmoud Dahoud, 6 – Had little influence in the first half and was much livelier after the half-time break. trying to engineer chances for his teammates.
Jude Bellingham, 7 – Energetic as always, he seemed to drive his team forward to create attacking opportunities. Booked for a late challenge on Dōan. He again stood out considerably compared to his more experienced teammates.
Marco Reus, 6 – Couldn’t execute the right pass to seriously worry Freiburg’s backline. Had little creative influence during the match in a below-par performance for the Dortmund captain.
Thorgan Hazard, 5 – Largely anonymous throughout the first half. A disappointing outing for the Belgian, who couldn’t get into the game and was substituted midway through the second half.
Anthony Modeste, 6 – Started slowly and couldn’t find many clear openings to test Flekken. Appeared out of sync at times with his teammates and needs more time to adapt to their style.
Donyell Malen, 6 – Bright on occasion but failed to seriously cause any problems in attack. Did well to support Guerreiro when needed defensively and was constantly on the move in the final third. His involvement faded as the game went on.
Others: Marius Wolf (7), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (8), Youssoufa Moukoko (7), Julian Brandt (-)
