Borussia Dortmund vs. Hoffenheim: Winners and Losers from Bundesliga Game

Borussia Dortmund picked up their first win—yes, win—in three games and only their second in 12 when Hoffenheim came to town on Friday night and found a rejuvenated home side awaiting them. 

Jurgen Klopp took a fresh approach in the match, with a new haircut to match his tactics, as star players returned to replace the duds who had, until now, struggled to put points on the board for the former Bundesliga champions. 

Markus Gisdol would have cursed Eintracht Frankfurt for pushing Dortmund into crisis mode last weekend with their 2-0 win and in turn forcing the club into action. Klopp's team looked like a side built with purpose and genuine hunger for the first time this season.

Here are the losers and winners from Friday night's match.

Winner: Ilkay Gundogan

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

One of the key moves in Friday's game was the decision to redeploy Ilkay Gundogan as a more attack-minded midfielder and allow him to express himself as a proper forward.

The German midfielder looked like a different player when asked to play further up the park and in his natural attacking role. Rather than playing as a box-to-box midfielder, Klopp instead pushed Henrikh Mkhitaryan out wide and allowed Gundogan to be the playmaker. 

This meant the Dortmund star could play behind the striker and ultimately run to the back post and score the decisive goal of the game.

It was a smart tactical move from Klopp that got the best out of one of his most talented players.

Loser: Robert Firmino

Michael Probst/Associated Press

Hoffenheim offered plenty of worry for Klopp ahead of this game, with a squad full of attacking talent that would have truly relished the opportunity to devour the troubled, relegation-battling side. 

Yet such a scenario never panned out, as Gisdol's side looked rather blunt in front of a galvanised Dortmund team. 

One player who stood out—or didn't—was star midfielder Roberto Firmino who had until Friday proven to be the catalyst for any success going forward among the Hoffenheim ranks this season. 

Having already scored three goals and as many assists in the league, according to Whoscored.com, prior to this encounter, much more was expected of the young, talented Brazilian playmaker.

Winner: Dortmund's Defence

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

In what seems like a somewhat unbelievable scenario, Mats Hummels returned to the Dortmund defence and as such saw Klopp play with a defensive line of the central defender, Neven Subotic, Lukasz Piszczek and Marcel Schmelzer for the first time since the Champions League final at Wembley two seasons ago. 

The fact that Dortmund have struggled since that day was perfectly evident from the manner in which they looked so much stronger and better in defense with the four playing together for the first time this season.

Hoffenheim have, in fact, proven to be one of the best attacking sides in the Bundesliga this season, yet they offered little against the might of Dortmund's returning first-choice back line.

Loser: Roman Weidenfeller

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Dortmund may have had their initial back line back for their win over Hoffenheim, yet Klopp made the crude decision to drop long-serving goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller in favour of Australian international Mitchell Langerak. 

The move didn't play too much into the factors that turned the game in Dortmund's favor—Langerak in truth had very little to do throughout the match—yet the debutant goalkeeper in the Bundesliga this season did little to suggest that he needed dropped. 

For the time being, Weidenfeller will likely find himself on the bench until his colleague between the sticks fails to match Dortmund's first team. A brave move from the manager and one that a number of Dortmund fans will applaud.

Winner: Dortmund's Relegation Battle

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Here's something none of us would have considered accepting at this point in the season before it had even started: Borussia Dortmund have just left the relegation zone weeks before the winter break.

Yes, this season has been truly baffling for Dortmund fans, and if there is any comfort or an ounce of respite from this disastrous campaign, it will be the fact that Klopp's side have picked up a vital three points and at least momentarily moved out of the relegation zone. 

Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg and then Werder Bremen now await before the winter break. Three games that could offer plenty of opportunity for this troubled side to march back up the league table before it's too late.