Borussia Dortmund battled back from behind twice to clinch a more-than-deserved point against Real Madrid at the Westfalenstadion in a 1-1 Champions League draw on Tuesday.
Positives
For Dortmund, it was a great sign of respect by their opponent, as the mighty Real Madrid were happy to concede possession and try to win on the counter-attack. The Black and Yellows looked up the test, although they had to battle back from behind twice.
Negatives
Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel was happy with the result, but not overjoyed. "We played well today, but we could have even played better," he said.
Not taking the taking the lead after a dominant first half was a shame for BVB. In the second half, the hosts lost their assurance in their possession game for a 20-minute stretch.
Manager rating out of 10
8 -- Tuchel opted for a attacking-minded formation. Taking the game to Los Blancos is an active choice, which underlines that Dortmund are committed to their proactive playing style.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Roman Burki, 7 -- Dortmund's goalkeeper could parry two of the four shots Real Madrid put on target, but there was little he could do about either Cristiano Ronaldo's goal in the 17th minute nor Raphael Varane's tap-in the 68th.
DF Lukasz Piszczek, 7 -- The 30-year-old made it look routine against Ronaldo after several games against the Potuguese international. Madrid's talisman had a quiet night, and Piszczek played a part in that.
DF Sokratis Papastathopoulos, 6 -- The centre-back was caught out of position on Dortmund's right side before the guests could finish their counter-attack to take an early lead in the game.
DF Matthias Ginter, 7 -- Marc Bartra missed the match due to injury, so Ginter, who struggled in recent matches, had to replace the former Barcelona player and was an asset in Dortmund's distribution from the back.
DF Marcel Schmelzer, 6 -- The left-back was in trouble a couple of times -- as one would expect against the likes of Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. Fans in the stands bemoaned that he hardly went for the vertical ball with Andre Schurrle ahead of him in the second half.
MF Julian Weigl, 7 -- Zinedine Zidane knew what he was doing as he tried to contain Weigl by ordering James Rodriguez to man mark him whenever possible in midfield. The 21-year-old, however, was assured as ever on the ball to buy his team vital time to gain structure in possession.
MF Mario Gotze, 5 -- The 24-year-old looked like one of many in a Dortmund shirt, lacking the agility to impress against Real.
MF Gonzalo Castro, 7 -- The 29-year-old found the right balance between the risky pass and calming the play. There were moments when Tuchel waved at Castro to be more direct in his actions.
MF Raphael Guerreiro, 6 -- On the left wing, Guerreiro could not quite impress as he has in a more central role, losing the ball several times in his dribbling attempts. However, he had sparks of brilliance when he could create promising chances with intelligent lay-offs.
MF Ousmane Dembele, 7 -- Dembele has already won over Dortmund fans. Every time he gets the ball, people in the stands hold their breath as a magical moment is about to happen. Against Real Madrid, he showed some silky skills but some of his dribbling ended in frustration, which correlates with the high expectations he creates when he touches the ball.
FW Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 6 -- His toe poke put him on the scoresheet for a vital half-time lead. However, Aubameyang didn't look up to speed in this game.
Substitutes
MF Andre Schurrle, 8 -- The left-winger could only come off the bench due to a knee injury that kept him out for a couple of weeks, replacing the hapless Gotze. Although left-back Schmelzer refrained from feeding Schurrle too often, Dortmund's record signing was the lively element Tuchel had hoped for. He saved Dortmund a vital point with an absolute screamer into the top-left corner three minutes before full-time.
MF Christian Pulisic, NR -- The 18-year-old didn't care about what kind of opposition was in front of him. He replaced Dembele in the 73rd minute and immediately caused trouble on the right side. If Jurgen Klinsmann is still uncertain about regularly starting the attacking midfielder for the United States, he got his answer on Tuesday.
MF Emre Mor, NR -- Saw 13 minutes of the field as Tuchel brought on another attacker to tilt the match in Dortmund's favour. The 19-year-old showed glimpses of his talent and was a good support for Pulisic on BVB's left side.