Match Ratings: Dortmund Outlast Sturm Graz to Win 1-0 in the Champions League

Today at 12:27 PM

Borussia Dortmund continued their fantastic run of form (winning any games at all) with a 1-0 win against Sturm Graz in the Champions League on Tuesday. BVB were the better team, but they looked tired throughout, and despite a solid first half, they started to run out of ideas in the second half.

It didn't come easy, but a late Donyell Malen goal got the job done at Westfalenstadion, keeping BVB in the running for automatic qualification for the Round of 16. After the international break, Dortmund's next Champions League tie sees them face Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb.

Here are our ratings from Tuesday night's 1-0 win against Sturm Graz.

Starting XI

Alexander Meyer

Paul: 6

Yash: 6

He only had one shot to face, but face it, he did. Did a typically good job with the ball at his feet.

Joey: 6

He didn't have much to do, but he managed a fantastic diving save.

Ramy Bensebaini

Paul: 7

Bensebaini worked hard all game long and did a pretty good job in the process.

Yash: 7

Ran his socks off and provided a great outlet on the left.

Joey: 8

I'm giving Ramy an extra point for his improved form and playing through those cramps in the dying minutes.

Nico Schlotterbeck

Paul: 7

Yash: 6

Joey: 7

Emre Can

Paul: 6

Yash: 7

Can has blossomed into a really commanding figure in the centre of defense over the last few games. It's no secret that our backline has missed Hummels this season, but it looks like our captain is rising to the occasion.

Joey: 7

Is Emre Can a better central defender than a defensive midfielder? Or has he stepped up his game in recent weeks?

Pascal Groß

Paul: 7

I thought Groß put in a really solid shift, particularly given he was filling in at right-back.

Yash: 7

Good on both sides of the ball, as usual.

Joey: 6

Groß playing as a wingback isn't inherently bad since he's decent at sending crosses into the box, but Pascal Groß is cooked. He needs a rest.

Felix Nmecha

Paul: 5

Yash: 6

Joey: 6

Nmecha was inconsistent, showing glimpses of his recent form but still finding a few opportunities to be sloppy.

Marcel Sabitzer

Paul: 5

Yash: 5

Joey: 5

Julian Brandt

Paul: 6

Don't think it was really working for Brandt, but it wasn't a bad effort.

Yash: 7

Forced increasingly wide as the game wore on, where he struggled. Showed his cleverness and range of passing, but to no avail, I remain impressed by his defensive work rate.

Joey: 7

Brandt has been getting more hate than he deserves. His dribbling was fast, and his long balls and through balls were accurate, providing Guirassy descent service. I admit his crossing was terrible, but Brandt is best when playing through the middle.

Jamie Gittens

Paul: 5

Gittens didn't have much luck on Tuesday night. Despite all the attention he seems to receive, it was just a quiet night.

Yash: 4

He made little impact, thanks to a well-drilled Graz defensive line and some disappointing decision-making. He's played a lot of football recently; with some of the other wide players returning, he might benefit from some rest.

Joey: 5

Gittens couldn't find the room on the wing he needed, and his decision-making was poor when he dribbled into the box.

Maximilian Beier

Paul: 8

Yash: 7

Nearly scored a goal of the league stage contender and worked hard throughout. Looks like our new forward is beginning to find his confidence!

Joey: 7

Serhou Guirassy

Paul: 6

But for the assist, this rating would have been lower. Guirassy wasn't up to much.

Yash: 6

Oddly quiet, despite receiving good service throughout. Made a very important assist.

Joey: 6

He could have done more with the ball in several situations but managed some decent hold-up play and assisted the winning goal.

Substitutes

Donyell Malen

Paul: 7

He scored the winning goal. I don't care what else he did.

Yash: 7

Did really well to convert a difficult pass into the winning goal. Sliced a chance that looked like a certain goal.

Joey: 7

Scored a goal, got a yellow card, didn't do much else.

Cole Campbell

N/A

Ayman Azhil

N/A

Overall

Paul: 6

I'm not willing to be particularly harsh on Tuesday's performance because while I think it was not great, it seemed very obvious that everyone was exhausted. Sahin fielded the same starting eleven that beat RB Leipzig at the weekend, so, understandably, they ran out of gas quite early. In that context, I think it was a solid, if not impressive, performance. We'll take it.

Yash: 6

Graz did a great job of frustrating us by staying narrow and forcing play away from our creative central players. Being an absolute mountain, their keeper also helped them with our deliveries from wide. For the most part, we worked hard and looked comfortable, and we could probably have had a few more on another day. It was concerning—if unsurprising—that we began to look really tired as the second half wore on; this is a paper-thin squad that's played a lot of football in a short space of time. With the squad due to be bolstered by some returnees from injury soon, this newfound desire and cohesion is a promising sign!

Joey: 7

I gave my ratings based on how tired the squad is. These guys played their hearts out and earned three points in the Champions League. It was close, but a win is a win. I think Sahin's system was organized from the first whistle, creating chance after chance, but the team couldn't find that final touch. By the middle of the second half, however, BVB began struggling, and I believe that comes down to generalized player fatigue. This is also why I think Donny Malen scored the goal. He had energy coming from the bench.

Plus, the Sturm Graz keeper was huge—like 6'8"—so he couldn't have been easy to score on.