BVB player ratings: Fabio Silva dazzles, Nmecha fades | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund win their Champions League opener 3-2 against Villarreal CF. The BVB players in the BVBWLD individual ratings.

Gregor Kobel: Whenever he was called upon, the Swiss goalkeeper was perfectly positioned and prevented an early deficit with some good saves. He was not at fault for either of the goals conceded. Rating: 2.5.

Waldemar Anton: The captain delivered a decent defensive performance overall. The only blemish: in the 15th minute, he lost sight of Mikautadze. After that, though, he was fully switched on again. Rating: 3.5.

Joane Gadou: The 19-year-old center-back once again justified Kovac’s trust. He looked extremely composed in the back three and turned in a remarkably mature and solid display for his age. Not quite as convincing after the break. Rating: 2.5.

Daniel Svensson: Had to fill in at center-back because of the injury crisis. Made a major blunder against Pépé in the 63rd minute, putting the BVB defense under serious pressure. Solid overall, but with room for improvement. Rating: 3.5.

Julian Ryerson: Covered plenty of ground as always. However, he lost the decisive aerial duel against Mouriño before the 1-1. Rating: 4.

Marcel Sabitzer (until the 75th minute): Somewhat surprisingly came into the starting lineup in place of Bellingham and impressed with his work rate. As the match went on, however, he lost momentum and at times dropped to the sluggish level of his teammates. Still, his key pass to Beier before the 1-0 stood out as a positive. Rating: 3.5.

Nmecha has an off day

Felix Nmecha (until the 75th minute): The midfielder had a poor game. He never really got involved, looked short of ideas, and was clearly below the level of those around him. As a result, he was substituted late on. Rating: 4.5.

Joey Veerman: The new signing has now firmly established himself as the much-hoped-for orchestrator in Dortmund’s midfield. He constantly demanded the ball, moved play forward intelligently, and pulled the strings brilliantly for long stretches. Rating: 2.

Konstantinos Karetsas (until the 27th minute): Made a very lively start and was extremely active. However, he then had to be carried off on a stretcher due to injury, to huge applause but with worried looks all around. No rating.

Maximilian Beier (until the 82nd minute): His strong burst forward and cross forced the opponent’s own goal for 1-0. He provided clearly more impetus on his side than his counterpart Ryerson on the opposite flank. Rating: 3.

Serhou Guirassy: The striker was in ruthless goalscoring form. He struck with an ice-cold brace — first for the important 2-1 lead and shortly after from the penalty spot after a foul. Despite an unfortunate late own goal in stoppage time, he was one of the match winners. Rating: 1.5.

Photo: Getty Images

Substitutes:

Ethan Nwaneri (from the 27th minute, until the 82nd minute): Came on earlier than expected for Karetsas. Added energy and hit the post shortly after halftime. Rating: 2.5.

Jobe Bellingham (from the 75th minute): An inconspicuous display in the closing stages. Didn’t stand out either positively or negatively. Rating: 3.5.

Fábio Silva (from the 75th minute): Came on as a substitute in the 75th minute and immediately brought the decisive energy to the pitch. Just three minutes after coming on, he set up Guirassy brilliantly for the 2-1 and made a case for more playing time. Rating: 2.

Carney Chukwuemeka (from the 82nd minute): No rating due to limited playing time.

Kaua Prates (from the 82nd minute): No rating due to limited playing time.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.