Borussia Dortmund were dealt a massive blow in their Bundesliga title aspirations as FC Cologne staged a fightback to edge them 3-2 in a thriller.
Dortmund were sloppy in the first few moments but seized control of the game as they dominated the first half but that didn’t reflect on the scoreline as they missed a lot of chances which came back to haunt them. Dortmund won back the possession in Cologne’s half and Bellingham fed a delightful ball to Brandt who got past a couple of defenders before sending the ball to the net in the 31st minute.
The hosts kept pushing after the break and were rewarded as Florian Kainz slotted the ball home from a Linton Maina low cross when the clock hit 53 minutes. They doubled their scoring three minutes later as Tigges beat his marker to send the crowd into sheer joy.
Dortmund were hanging by a thread but Dejan Ljubicic had some other plans. He killed the game with a beautiful curler past a hapless Meyer who couldn’t keep the ball outside.
Dortmund had a late lease of life when Tom Rothe’s cross deflected off Benno Schmitz and got into his net at the stroke of 78 minutes as a glimmer of hope lit up for the German giants. But the home team held their fort well for the remaining game and racked up valuable three points.
The Hard Tackle now runs the rule over Edin Terzic’s men.
Alexander Meyer: 6/10
Couldn’t have done much at the time of the goals as it was the Dortmund back line which led him down. Meyer had an 87% pass success rate and also kept his team in the game with 7 saves.
Thomas Meunier: 7/10
Meunier combined well with the attackers to bombard through the right channel which provided Dortmund with much-needed width. Kept pushing the attackers with a number of crosses and also delivered 2 key passes throughout the game.
Niklas Sule: 6/10
Sule had a pretty forgetful evening as he was caught napping a number of times. The absence of Mats Hummels was felt heavily as Sule also was very slow to react at times. He also didn’t do enough when Dejan Ljubicic curled the third goal which later proved to be the winner.
Nico Schlotterbeck: 7/10
Should have done better at the time of the second goal as he was responsible for marking Steffen Tigges who headed home without any kind of restrictions. Shuffled the back line well but needs a better response in the next match.
Raphael Guerreiro: 6.5/10
Tried his bit from the left side. The Portuguese international had some lively moments in the attacking third but the outcome was poor. Dealt with the threat well.
Salih Ozcan: 6/10
The midfielder lacked the tenacity and intensity to match the level of the game. He won two aerial duels and also made two important clearances.
Jude Bellingham: 7/10
Bellingham ran the midfield as he was equally active on both sides of the pitch. The English youngster created the first goal as he laid the ball to Julian Brandt who danced through the defence to open the scoring for the visitors. The midfielder eased his way through challenges and looked menacing at times.
Julian Brandt: 7.5/10
Brandt was the most happening player on the pitch for Dortmund. The attacking midfielder was in the thick of things with a passing accuracy of 86%. He laid three key passes alongside the opening goal for his side.
Donyell Malen: 6/10
Malen looked dangerous in patches as he took on the defender with his strides. The forward did everything and also had his chances but some shoddy finishing and brilliant defending made him pay.
Karim Adeyemi: 6/10
Karim Adeyemi didn’t have the cutting edge and looked clueless at times. The youngster came up with two key passes but the host team had the last laugh.
Anthony Modeste: 6.5/10
Modeste’s goal drought continued as the player is yet to open his account. Tried to convert a number of low crosses and was engaged in a healthy battle.
Substitutes
Thorgan Hazard: 6/10
Hazard was introduced to make a difference and he almost had it but couldn’t control his shot.
Youssoufa Moukoko: 6/10
Didn’t have that intent.