Youssoufa Moukoko became the youngest goalscorer in the Revierderby as Borussia Dortmund edged out Schalke 1-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Dortmund controlled the proceedings from the start and the goal came as a result of their endless approach towards Schalke’s goal. Anthony Wolf’s perfectly measured cross was met in the air by Moukoko who got past the challenge of Maya Yoshida to head home the winner.
Schalke barely troubled the Dortmund keeper as they knew they would endure a tough afternoon. Despite enjoying the possession most of the time Dortmund felt the absence of Sebastian Haller as Anthony Modeste remained ineffective and had another dismal display as the lone frontman.
Schalke did not have a single player who had the prior experience of getting the taste of a Revierderby and the Royal Blues were crying out for something positive as Dortmund pushed them to the brink.
Jude Bellingham’s effort was brilliantly saved by Alexander Schwolow who had a solid game despite Schalke’s defeat. The keeper once again denied Giovanni Reyna and Bellingham to keep Schalke alive in the game.
The introduction of Moukoko and Karim Adeyemi did the trick as Schalke defenders had a tough time dealing with their trickery and pace.
However, the victory got marred with an untimely injury to Marco Reus who is now facing a long spell on the sidelines and could miss the World Cup.
With Union Berlin playing on Sunday, the win will take Dortmund briefly to the top of the table with 15 points from 7 games.
The Hard Tackle now runs the rule over Edin Terzic’s men.
Alexander Meyer: 6/10
Had a very comfortable day in the goal as the goalkeeper wasn’t tested at all by the Schalke attackers. He kept his composure while dealing with the aerial balls and crosses.
Thomas Meunier: 7/10
Kept things tight and tidy on his side as the Belgium international was often seen on the other half of the pitch. He delivered some lovely crosses and even tried a few defence-splitting passes to shake up things.
Mats Hummels: 7.5/10
Had another sharp game in the Dortmund backline. The German dealt with the aerial threat pretty comfortably and was also visionary with his forward passing. He could well turn out to be the player of the season.
Nico Schlotterbeck: 7/10
Nico complemented Hummels brilliantly and the pair denied everything Schalke readied for them. The young defender has a very good positional sense which helped him immensely.
Marius Wolf: 7/10
Wolf looked dangerous as he carried the ball forward with intent and could have netted one in the first half. Set up Moukoko excellently for the goal with his delightful cross.
Salih Ozcan: 6/10
Ozcan has been a regular in the Dortmund midfield and put in another pivotal shift to keep control of the midfield. He broke up play a number of times and helped the team to keep the shape intact.
Jude Bellingham: 7/10
Another significant performance from the youngster. The midfielder tried his luck in the first half but was unlucky not to score. He always looked for something in the Schalke attacking third and also won possession a number of times with some important recoveries.
Marco Reus: N/A
Made a positive start to the match but had to leave the field on a stretcher.
Donyell Malen: 7.5/10
Malen did everything but score the goal. The 23 year old looked on song and created panic in the Schalke back line with his creative footwork. He almost scored an outrageous goal but was denied but the keeper.
Julian Brandt: 6/10
Brandt made some inroads to the forward stretch but was very clumsy. He tried to impact the game with some crosses but failed to make a mark.
Anthony Modeste: 5/10
Modeste has been having a torrid time upfront and he was in no mood to offer any assistance to his fellow players. Having been involved in all but one Bundesliga games this season, the striker will definitely have to uplift his game.
Substitutes
Youssoufa Moukoko: 8/10
1️⃣7️⃣ years
9️⃣ months
2️⃣8️⃣ days.The era of Youssofa Moukoko is now. ?#Revierderby | #Bundesliga | #MD7 pic.twitter.com/sMNwxH9D2c
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) September 17, 2022
Showed great resilience in shrugging off the challenge as he nodded past the Schalke keeper. Will be gunning for a start in the next game.
Giovanni Reyna: 6.5/10
Had to be called early on to replace Reus on the pitch. Contributed pretty vigorously to the occasion and it was his pass which initiated the movement of the goal.
Karim Adeyemi: 6/10
Tried to combine with the other players to build up attacks since coming on.
