Borussia Dortmund vs. Krasnodar: Winners and Losers from Europa League Game

Borussia Dortmund just about deserved their 2-1 win over Krasnodar in Thursday night's kick-off to the 2015-16 UEFA Europa League group stages. 

Thomas Tuchel's side were considered strong favourites ahead of the tie, yet following a reshuffle of his first team—which went on to include a number of reserve players—the game itself was far more balanced and finely poised than initially predicted.

An opening goal from Pavel Mamaev in the 12th minute caused quite the uproar in the Westfalenstadion, yet a header from Matthias Ginter just before half-time brought things back to normality. 

The Russian side looked as though they may have nicked a point as the game moved into the final moments, before a diving header from left-back Joo-Ho Park poked Dortmund ahead before the final whistle. 

Here are the winners and losers from Thursday's game.

Winner: Dortmund's Bundesliga Campaign

Associated Press

Regardless of how Thursday night's result panned out, it seems as though Tuchel was always intent on prioritising the weekend's Bundesliga clash ahead of this Europa League game. 

This was perfectly evident when the Dortmund manager announced that Roman Burki, Julian Weigl, Shinji Kagawa and Lukasz Piszczek would sit out the game unless needed. This in turn meant a rare start for Gonzalo Castro, Roman Weidenfeller, Adnan Januzaj and Joo-Ho Park.

Add to this the news that Marco Reus would return to team training on Friday and it looks as though Tuchel may have shuffled his XI well enough to ensure a strong, fresh Dortmund side will be ready to face Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

Loser: Roman Weidenfeller

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Although Dortmund enjoyed a passable performance throughout much of the pitch, there was one position that stumbled and ultimately failed over the course of the 90 minutes. 

This was, of course, between the sticks, where Weidenfeller returned to his former stamping ground and very quickly reminded Dortmund fans just how it used to be.

The former Germany international gave Dortmund a number of great years, but the manner in which he punted every pass up the park and failed to handle the opening goal did little but show just how far Tuchel's side have come under Roman Burki.

Winner: Matthias Ginter

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If you had told Dortmund fans that Matthias Ginter would not only be one of the breakout stars of this new season, but that he would be doing it from right-back, they would have told you you were mad. Yet that's exactly what has happened. 

According to Transfermarkt, Ginter has now amassed an incredible two goals and six assists in six Bundesliga and Europa League games. A goal to pull Dortmund level and an assist to set up the winner undoubtedly made the 21-year-old the man of the match on Thursday. 

Sure, he may have been at fault for the opening goal, but old habits die hard. Another fantastic performance from the defender under Tuchel.

Loser: Gonzalo Castro

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Another player who was offered a rare start on Thursday night was attacking midfielder Gonzalo Castro, who once again failed to take full advantage of considerable time in his favoured position.

Although the former Leverkusen playmaker had a number of chances to either score or set up goals throughout the match, he always seemed a little rusty with the final ball or shot.

Ultimately, Tuchel had seen enough by the 62nd minute when Weigl was brought on in place of the attacking midfielder. Another opportunity squandered for the central midfielder.