Beier the match-winner – player ratings for BVB's win in Stuttgart | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund surged to the top of the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win away at VfB Stuttgart. The BVB players in the BVBWLD individual ratings.

Gregor Kobel: The BVB goalkeeper exuded his usual calm, but was only rarely seriously tested. In the 31st minute, he showed all his class when he reacted lightning-fast after a defensive error by Gadou and denied Undav’s shot with a strong save using his foot. Rating: 2.5.

Waldemar Anton: On his return to his old stomping ground, he was mercilessly booed by the Stuttgart fans. He was not fazed by it, though, kept the center of defense tight, and took the sting out of Demirovic’s game early on. Rating: 2.5.

Joane Gadou: Showed enormous strength in the tackle from the very first minute and was as robust as usual. However, a dreadful misplaced pass led to VfB’s first big chance (16’). After 31 minutes, he made another major blunder when he handed Undav the ball completely unchallenged. He was lucky that Kobel bailed him out. After his yellow card in the 57th minute, he played more cautiously. Rating: 4.

Nico Schlotterbeck: The captain delivered a solid defensive performance. In build-up play, he mixed in a few long balls and was shown a yellow card in the 32nd minute for a tactical foul. Rating: 2.5.

Daniel Svensson: Showed some weaknesses tracking back. One lost header against El Khannouss allowed VfB a huge chance to take the lead (34’). He also lacked the necessary spark going forward. Rating: 4.

Julian Ryerson (until the 81st minute): Time and again had to deal with the duo of Führich and Mittelstädt on his side. Put in a lot of defensive work, but going forward the Norwegian lacked his usual precision on this night. Was substituted in the 81st minute. Rating: 4.

Joey Veerman (until the 62nd minute): Distributed the ball well in central areas, but defensively sometimes had trouble matching the pace of Stuttgart’s agile players. Rating: 3.

Ethan Nwaneri (until the 62nd minute): Worked hard to create space, but rarely found the spark of inspiration against VfB’s compact back line. Scored an offside goal shortly after the break (53’). Made way for Karetsas after an hour. Rating: 4.

Bellingham and Karetsas provide fresh impetus

Felix Nmecha:  Didn’t get into the game well at all. In the opening minutes, there were a few shaky moments and misplaced passes. But he improved and impressed with his counter-pressing. In the 73rd minute, he made an unfortunate decision when, with a clear sight of goal, he opted for a square pass instead of taking the shot himself. Rating: 3.5.

Photo: Getty Images

Maximilian Beier (until the 82nd minute): Ran a lot but seemed invisible for long stretches. But in the 70th minute, he showed his priceless striker’s instinct, getting on the end of Bellingham’s cross in exactly the right place and coolly slotting home the winner for 1-0. Rating: 2.5.

Serhou Guirassy (until the 74th minute): Was largely isolated on the pitch and only rarely looked dangerous in possession. In the 66th minute, he missed the moment to play a pass, instead dribbled himself into trouble and wasted the opportunity. Despite clear effort, he was largely ineffective overall. Rating: 4.

Substitutes:

Jobe Bellingham (from the 62nd minute): Just a few minutes after coming on, he took on his man out wide, made use of the space, and delivered the pinpoint cross for Beier’s goal. Rating: 2.5.

Konstantinos Karetsas (from the 62nd minute): Marked his comeback with a strong performance. Immediately provided some creative moments. In the 73rd minute, he came agonizingly close to making it 2-0 on the counter, but his shot hit the side netting. Rating: 2.5.

Fábio Silva (from the 74th minute): Livened up the game with some good runs in behind and strong dribbling, but lacked the necessary precision in front of goal. Even so, he was clearly more noticeable than Guirassy. Rating: 3.

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

Ramy Bensebaini (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.