When I first saw BVB’s team sheet for today’s match, I felt it was a match where Dortmund had everything to win and not much to lose. Hansi Flick’s FC Barcelona has been one of the best in Europe this season, outdone maybe only by Arne Slot’s high-flying Liverpool. Nuri Sahin decided to trust both Reyna and Duranville from the beginning, and most surprisingly, they both held up relatively well. Although Barcelona pressured Dortmund through the initial 45 minutes, the Black-and-Yellows managed to keep them from scoring. Sahin’s team picked up more momentum in the second half, but a quick turn and pass from Dani Olmo put Raphinha through in the 53th minute to break the deadlock. Things leveled after an hour of play when Cubarsi shoved Serhou Guirassy in the back inside the box, resulting in a cooly taken penalty. Some risky high-line defending from both sides saw one more goal apiece for each team. In the end, Dortmund were undone by some poor communication between Pascal Groß and Jamie Gittens. Groß gifted the ball for Barca to counter attack, and Ferran Torres ended up with all the time in the world to slot the ball behind Gregor Kobel. The result is very frustrating, but the performance itself wasn’t half bad from BVB. Below are my nominees for tonight’s MOTM:
Nico Schlotterbeck
Schlotti once again had a new centreback partner in Emre Can, but he didn’t seem fazed by it at all. The German international played at a very high level tonight, snatching out multiple through balls and making a number of important tackles. His longballs were accurate as always, and more often than not they managed to totally break Barcelona’s press. Sadly, the injury he suffered on the game’s final play looks quite serious, which means that Sahin will have to dig really deep for the next match against Hoffenheim on Sunday.
Felix Nmecha
The success story continues for Felix Nmecha, who impressed once again as a number six. His turn and drive was crucial for progressing the ball, and at times, it felt like he had to do it all by himself. He also had an absolutely ridiculous passing accuracy of 95%, only misplacing two passes against a very aggressive Barcelona side. His one mistake this game was the lost duel against Dani Olmo, resulting the first goal. Other than that, I felt like Nmecha almost did the best he could — sadly the people in front of him weren’t always able to follow up.
Borussia Dortmund v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images
Serhou Guirassy
I gotta be honest. I was quite frustrated with Guirassy’s performance today. He wasn’t able to hold up the ball against Iñigo Martinez, and he missed quite a few big chances. But you know what? A good strikers scores the goals, even when he has an off day, and the Guinean international provided two goals—a clean penalty and an easy shot in an empty net. Guirassy is still elite when it comes to being in the right place at the right time, but his technical ability let him down a bit today.
Julien Duranville
I simply have to put this kid in here, because he managed to look so unimpressed while having just been thrown in against one of Europe’s top sides. Duranville made his direct opponent in Alejandro Balde look ridiculous on more than one occasion, and he created a good handful of opportunities in the first half. I understand Sahin’s decision to start him, because man... It looks like Donyell Malen has already checked out mentally. Some very good stuff from this 18-year old kid today! Long may it continue!
UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League phase 6Borussia Dortmund - FC Barcelona Photo by ANP via Getty Images
Poll
Who was your Man of the Match?
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Nico Schlotterbeck
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Felix Nmecha
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Serhou Guirassy
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Julien Duranville
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