In the first game back after the international break, Borussia Dortmund hosted Werder Bremen at the Westfalenstadion.
The first half was completely dominated by Dortmund but they were unable to make the most of their chances with the biggest one coming from Marco Reus whose shot went just the other side of the post.
Dortmund continued to dominate the second half and were finally rewarded with a breakthrough in the 67th minute when Julian Brandt was played through and dinked the ball over Bremen keeper Michael Zetterer.
With Bayer Leverkusen not playing Wolfsburg until Saturday afternoon, Dortmund go top of the Bundesliga.
Borussia Dortmund Player Ratings
Gregor Kobel – 5
Marius Wolf – 5
Mats Hummels – 6
Nico Schlotterbeck – 5
Julian Ryerson – 5
Emre Can – 5
Felix Nmecha – 6
Donyell Malen – 6
Marco Reus – 7 – Another solid display from the 34-year-old which showed why he still is crucial to Dortmund’s attack despite his unreliability when it comes to his fitness. It now looks entirely possible that he could be a surprise call-up to the Germany squad for the international break in November.
Julian Brandt – 8 – On his 300th Bundesliga game, Brandt showed why he was Dortmund’s best player on the pitch once again. Similar to Reus, Brandt has been the key of Dortmund’s attack for most of this calendar year. Without him Dortmund would likely find themselves further down the table. If Dortmund wishes to continue building on their form and hope to challenge Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, Brandt will be the most important piece.
Niclas Füllkrug – 5
Others: Ramy Bensebaini (5), Giovanni Reyna (5), Sébastien Haller (5), Marcel Sabitzer (5), Karim Adeyemi (-)
Werder Bremen Player Ratings
Michael Zetterer – 6 – In his first game of the season for Bremen, Zetterer put in a solid display in goal. If not for a clever move from Brandt, he would have ended up with a clean sheet.
Marco Friedl – 5
Milos Veljkovic – 5
Anthony Jung – 6
Mitchell Weiser – 5
Leonardo Bittencourt – 5
Jens Stage – 6
Romano Schmid – 6
Olivier Deman – 5
Dawid Kownacki – 5
Marvin Ducksch – 5
Others: Justin (Nijnmah5), Senne Lynen (5), Nick Woltemade (5), Rafael Borré (5)
GGFN | Jack Meenan
