Ranking Borussia Dortmund's Top 5 Players for October
October was an interesting and ultimately successful month for Borussia Dortmund. The Black and Yellows won five of their seven competitive matches, recording a combined scoreline of 20-4 in those five wins.
The month didn't start particularly well for Dortmund, who were in the midst of a four-game slump without a win that started late in September.
The 1-1 draw at PAOK wasn't a bad result, however, considering head coach Thomas Tuchel decided to leave no fewer than five regular starters at home for the Europa League game. Then came Dortmund's only defeat of the season so far, a 5-1 battering at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena.
The international break came at a welcome time for Dortmund, and they haven't looked back since, winning all five remaining games on the schedule for the month.
It started with a 2-0 win at Mainz, a game that was more difficult than the scoreline indicated. That was followed by a 3-1 victory at Azerbaijani side Qabala in the Europa League. While Dortmund didn't look great in those games, they were important for the team's confidence after the four winless games put a dent in the club's impeccable start to the season.
Tuchel's men proceeded to rout FC Augsburg 5-1 in the Bundesliga and SC Paderborn 7-1 in the DFB-Pokal in the span of four days at Signal Iduna Park before closing out the month with a 3-1 win against Werder Bremen on the road.
As those results indicate, the following ranking of Dortmund's top five players for October has a heavy attacking touch.
Honourable mentions are in order for centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Dortmund's most consistent defender during the month, and Gonzalo Castro, who would have had a good shot at cracking this list if he had gotten more playing time.
5. Shinji Kagawa
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Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa hasn't gotten a lot of buzz this season, and that's a shame. Kagawa's resurgence to the form that got Sir Alex Ferguson interested in him several years ago would make for a great story, but Dortmund are offering a lot of those this season.
The 26-year-old's best performance of the campaign came in the game against Augsburg, when he assisted three goals with excellent vision and technique. He followed that up by scoring a goal himself, a beauty in the DFB-Pokal against Paderborn after a brilliant one-two with Castro inside the penalty area.
The Japan international's display against Augsburg prompted local paper Ruhr Nachrichten to celebrate the return of the "Little Magician." But for a few missed chances too many, Kagawa could easily be higher up this list.
4. Marco Reus
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Marco Reus was under a lot of scrutiny at the start of the month. After a few disappointing performances for club and country upon his return from a broken toe, many were puzzled about the 26-year-old's lack of form.
Much like his team, Reus looked like a different player after the international break. Dortmund's No. 11 has been his side's leading goalscorer during the current run of three Bundesliga victories, having found the net five times in his last three league appearances.
As he's also created the second-most chances for team-mates in those three games with five, per Squawka, Reus is clearly trending in the right direction—and not just on the scoresheet.
3. Julian Weigl
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Julian Weigl is certainly the least spectacular player on this list, but the 20-year-old midfielder has earned his spot through remarkable consistency.
Weigl has quickly established himself as one of Dortmund's "main structure-supporting agents," as Tom Payne noted for Spielverlagerung in September. Weigl's performances in October have done nothing to suggest he's just an early-season wonder.
The holding midfielder failed to surpass a 90 percent pass-completion rate only twice, against Bayern (88) and Mainz (84). "Spectacular in the unspectacular" is how ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko described Weigl's playing style.
Weigl, an old head on young shoulders, is one of the main reasons why Dortmund, by and large, don't lose balance despite their everlasting hunger for goals.
2. Henrikh Mkhitaryan
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We highlighted Henrikh Mkhitaryan's impressive season here, so his inclusion on this list can't come as much of a surprise to anyone.
In short, the 26-year-old has been as mesmerising in October as he has been all year, and he would have probably been No. 1 had he not missed the games against Qabala and Augsburg.
Mkhitaryan's Man of the Match performance against Werder Bremen was breathtaking and had his head coach praising his competitive nature and incredible effectiveness, relayed by Kicker.
An early front-runner for Dortmund's Player of the Year, he's pipped to the monthly honour because one man was even more spectacular.
1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
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The Gabonese's uncharacteristic wastefulness in front of goal against Werder Bremen wasn't enough for him to be dropped down in this list. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the easy choice for No. 1.
The 26-year-old failed to find the net in two of October's seven games, with Mainz being the other opponent to hold him goalless. But even in that game, his contributions were vital, as he set up Reus and Mkhitaryan for their goals in Dortmund's 2-0 win.
Despite those two games and being rested against both PAOK and Paderborn, Aubameyang found the net seven times in the month of October. Two hat-tricks in the span of four days, against Qabala and Augsburg, marked the pinnacle of his scoring rampage.
Aubameyang's impressive early-season form has him down for 20 goals and five assists in 18 appearances, which puts him at the top of the leaderboard for Dortmund.
With a hand in nine goals in October, Aubameyang has earned the distinction of Borussia Dortmund's Man of the Month.
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