Borussia Dortmund vs. Frankfurt: Winners and Losers from Bundesliga Game
Borussia Dortmund returned to winning ways on Sunday after their loss against PAOK in the UEFA Europa League in midweek, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1 on Matchday 16 of the 2015/16 Bundesliga season in front of their fans in Signal Iduna Park.
As expected, head coach Thomas Tuchel made no fewer than eight changes to his side, with only captain Mats Hummels, Sven Bender and Marco Reus keeping their spots in the starting XI. Bender, however, moved into central defence after playing in midfield against PAOK.
Tuchel's opponent on the touchline, Armin Veh, had to make four changes after his team's loss in the previous week's derby against Darmstadt. Centre-backs Carlos Zambrano and Marco Russ and midfielder Marc Stendera were suspended, while Stefan Reinartz missed the game through injury.
The hosts came out rocking, earning three corners in the first two minutes of the game and forcing Eintracht goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky into a save, but it was the visitors who struck first; Alexander Meier, last season's leading goalscorer in the Bundesliga, shocked Dortmund with a long-range effort in the sixth minute.
The Black and Yellows took their time to shake the goal off and answered in the 24th minute, when Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the equaliser. Dortmund had two golden opportunities to enter half-time with a lead, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang failed to even hit the target from the penalty spot and Mkhitaryan missed an open goal from a few yards out.
Frankfurt were a man down for the entirety of the second half, as Slobodan Medojevic was sent off for a second bookable offence for his foul on Gonzalo Castro that led to the penalty. Dortmund, meanwhile, had to take Marco Reus off with an apparent groin injury; Shinji Kagawa replaced the Germany international.
The substitution worked out well for the hosts, as the Japanese assisted Aubameyang's 18th goal in the Bundesliga that gave Dortmund the lead in the 57th minute. Hummels scored after a corner four minutes later to effectively put the game out of Frankfurt's reach. Substitute Adrian Ramos added a fourth four minutes from time, albeit from an offside position.
It was a thoroughly deserved win for the home team, who could easily have scored six or seven on the evening. Frankfurt did well to keep the game close for as long as they did.
With the win, Dortmund stay within shouting distance of league leaders Bayern Munich, while Frankfurt have fallen to 15th in the Bundesliga table, just two points ahead of last-placed Stuttgart.
Let's take a look at our winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Mats Hummels
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Much has been made about the Dortmund skipper's fall from grace this season, and understandably so. Hummels had a rough patch of games in which his performances were everything but convincing. But on the evidence of this game, that talk was greatly exaggerated.
The Dortmund centre-back was breathtaking against Frankfurt, slicing the Hessians up like a hot knife through butter time and time again. His pre-assist for Dortmund's equaliser was a thing of beauty, a laser of a through ball Aubameyang only had to square to leave Mkhitaryan with a tap-in.
Hummels rewarded himself for his class performance with his second goal of the campaign in the second half. It was evident how much it meant for him, and he acknowledged as much after the game, via ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko: "I think my confidence took a dip for the first time in my career, which is why today's goal was very nice for me."
Loser: Slobodan Medojevic
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The Frankfurt midfielder didn't play all that badly, but he had to be included in this list with his sending-off.
The Serbian was unlucky to get booked twice, as those were his only fouls of the evening, the second of which caused the penalty to boot.
The second yellow looked like a bad decision from referee Christian Dingert, as Vavel's Marco Conradie tweeted: "All-square at the break, but you have to feel that the penalty, and more importantly, the second yellow card for Medojevic, was very harsh."
Being a man down hurt Frankfurt a lot, although their ultra-defensive approach hadn't exactly kept Dortmund at bay until the sending-off, either.
Winner: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
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To say it was an eventful evening for Dortmund's Armenian playmaker would be an understatement. Mkhitaryan scored his side's first goal on a chance that—one would've said at the time—he couldn't miss. However, he failed to add to his scoring tally, missing two absolute sitters.
The second one was just bizarre: From three yards out and with an open goal in front of him, Mkhitaryan managed to head the ball over the bar.
So why is he included as a winner in this list?
For one, the Mkhitaryan of last season would've crumbled under the pressure of missing the first chance to give Dortmund the lead in stoppage time of the first half. He didn't do that on Sunday. Secondly, he got a rousing send-off from the Westfalenstadion faithful upon his substitution in the 82nd minute.
The supporters know how much Mkhitaryan has given them this season—and against Frankfurt as well. The two missed chances can't take away from the fact he was, once more, brilliant.
Loser: Armin Veh
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Granted, not much could be expected from a Frankfurt side riddled with injuries and suspensions, but the fact remains Frankfurt have won just once in their last 13 Bundesliga matches. Veh is firmly on the hot seat going into the winter break.
The experienced coach, in his second stint with the Hessians, approached the game much like he did the encounter against Bayern Munich earlier this season. Veh's side frequently had six at the back in the first half, but it seemed like his players struggled to occupy some of the spaces in their defensive third.
Dortmund's equaliser came on one occasion when that problem was especially evident, as Hummels' through ball found a crease between centre-back David Kinsombi and right-back Aleksandar Ignjovski.
Veh called the sending-off the sticking point of the game, according to Ruhr Nachrichten on Twitter, but that can't cover up the fact his side struggled with 11 against 11 as well. The Eagles now have a week to prepare for a six-pointer against Werder Bremen. It might just be a game Veh must win to keep his job.
Winner: Dortmund's Midfield
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Tuchel sent his team on the pitch in a 4-3-3, with Ilkay Gundogan, Julian Weigl and Castro forming the midfield until Reus' injury. Kagawa replaced Castro, who played on the wing for the rest of the game.
Dortmund's midfield was utterly dominant for the entirety of the match—and not only because Frankfurt ceded possession deliberately.
The Black and Yellows' midfield metronome was Julian Weigl. The 20-year-old set a record for the current Bundesliga campaign against Frankfurt. Per OptaFranz on Twitter, he had 191 touches of the ball. He also completed a stupendous 174 passes, per WhoScored.com. In comparison, Frankfurt's 'keeper attempted the most passes of his side with 38.
Weigl wasn't even the best of Dortmund's midfielders, however. Gundogan and Kagawa combined to create Aubameyang's goal. The Germany international played a brilliant lobbed pass to Kagawa who volleyed the ball to the hosts' star striker.
In a game against the ultra-defensive Hessians, Dortmund needed a very good performance from their midfield. They got just that—and more.
