Werder Bremen vs. Borussia Dortmund: Winners and Losers from Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund added another quality win to their impressive run of results after the October international break, beating Werder Bremen on Matchday 11 of the Bundesliga, 3-1, on the road.
Bremen's head coach Viktor Skripnik started the same XI that won in the DFB-Pokal against Cologne during the week, as regular left-back Santiago Garcia was still unavailable. Janek Sternberg replaced the Argentinian.
Dortmund made three changes from the side that routed Paderborn on Wednesday, with Park Joo-ho, Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang getting the start ahead of Marcel Schmelzer, Gonzalo Castro and Adrian Ramos respectively.
Reus opened the scoring after just nine minutes, slotting home from close range after Bremen 'keeper Felix Wiedwald failed to clear a pass across goal from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Bremen wasn't shocked by going down and asked Dortmund's defence a lot of questions. In the 32nd minute, Anthony Ujah benefitted from some confusion in the visitors' back line with a true poacher's goal after Matthias Ginter had saved a shot from Florian Grillitsch on the goal line.
Dortmund went into half-time with a lead thanks to an amazing outside-of-the-boot cross from skipper Mats Hummels that Mkhitaryan nodded home moments before intermission.
Aubameyang had three clear-cut opportunities to effectively kill the game, but the Gabonese failed to do what he has done so often this season. Reus scored the third in the 72nd minute, preventing a possibly frantic last phase of the game.
It was a tale of two halves, with Dortmund deserving the win on the back of a very dominant second 45 minutes.
Here are the winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Marco Reus
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It seems almost comical now, but the chatter among Dortmund supporters just two weeks ago was about the baffling lack of form of their star man.
Five goals in three Bundesliga games later, Reus has quieted that talk.
On Saturday, the 26-year-old scored a brace with two calm, considered finishes.
For the opening goal, Reus had a bit of luck, since Wiedwald's clearance fell right onto his foot.
The 3-1, however, showed why the Germany international is a natural goalscorer. With brilliant movement, impeccable shooting technique and coolness in front of goal, on his day, Reus is the complete package.
Speaking to German broadcaster Sky after the game, Reus attributed his return to form to his unwavering self-belief, while also lauding his team-mates.
Loser: Felix Wiedwald
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Bremen's man between the sticks didn't have a bad day. He even saved his team a few times, beating Aubameyang in one-on-one battles early in the second half.
But for Bremen to steal a result against heavy favourites Dortmund, Wiedwald needed a perfect game.
While not a classic mistake, his failed clearance from a Mkhitaryan ball across goal in the ninth minute proved decisive, as Reus didn't have to do too much to get the visitors in front.
On a day when Dortmund looked far from invincible in the first half—Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel admitted in his press conference he felt the half-time lead was lucky—Wiedwald's mishap was enough for him to earn a spot on this list.
Winner: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
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Dortmund's Armenian playmaker added another mightily impressive performance to his outstanding season, having a hand in all of Dortmund's goals.
He assisted the first one, albeit a bit lucky because of Wiedwald's intervention, trying to square for Aubameyang after receiving a sublime pass from Ilkay Gundogan.
Mkhitaryan's header from close range saw Dortmund go into the half with a lead, as the 26-year-old has now scored 12 goals in 18 appearances this season.
The pick of the bunch, however, was Mkhitaryan's assist for Reus' second goal, an amazing through ball, cutting Werder open like a hot knife through butter.
Mkhitaryan's stroke of genius oozed class and confidence.
Tuchel had high praise for his No. 10 after the game, lauding the Armenian's competitive nature and saying he knows he can rely on his star midfielder (via Ruhr Nachrichten).
Loser: Janek Sternberg
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Bremen's back-up left-back drew the unenviable assignment of covering the mesmerising Mkhitaryan. It proved to be a thankless task for the 23-year-old, who was at least partly at fault for both of Dortmund's first half goals.
He lost the Armenian before the 1-0, getting caught in no-man's-land while Mkhitaryan ran into the penalty box unhindered.
At the go-ahead goal, Sternberg completely lost track of the man he was responsible to cover, leaving Mkhitaryan with a tap-in header inside the six-yard box.
While there's certainly no shame in getting undressed by Mkhitaryan—he's done it to far more experienced players this year—it was a forgettable day for Sternberg.
Winner: The Bundesliga
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Dortmund's win provides the Bundesliga with a modicum of suspense at the top, after Bayern Munich's goalless draw with Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday.
While a true two-horse race at the top seems highly unlikely, given Bayern's dismantling of Dortmund earlier in October, the Black and Yellows are now "only" five points behind the mighty Bavarians and showed they'll be on the spot whenever Bayern slip up.
The way the last campaigns went, this is already a big improvement for the Bundesliga.
