PLAYER RATINGS | Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Mainz | OneFootball

One team fighting for the Champions League, the other languishing in mid-table mediocrity. That’s right, Champions League chasing Mainz travelled to Borussia Dortmund.

Mainz were very much in control for most of the first half, but they struggled to break down Dortmund, while at the other end, Dortmund were rather ineffective. However, what Dortmund have been lacking for most of this season has been luck, as well as quality, and this time they had luck on their side when a Julian Brandt through ball takes a lucky bounce which allows Maximilian Beier to play the ball to Karim Adeyemi, who squared it back to Beier to make it 1-0. Then quickly afterwards, a Nico Schloterbeck corner (this tells you everything you need to know about Dortmund’s normal set-piece takers) is met by Emre Can to make it 2-0, and Dortmund were well in their stride.

In the second half, Mainz were again fully in control as they tried to get themselves back into the game. The 05ers had several chances, but Dortmund defended them well, blocking several efforts. Then, Dortmund scored a third when another Schlotterbeck corner was met by the head of Beier to make it 3-0. Mainz continued to push and would get a goal back from Paul Nebel.

A weird performance, Dortmund were not exactly the better side but were far more effective in front of goal compared to the visitors. What also helped was die Schwarzgelben were sound defensively and managed to shut down any of the Mainz attacks. The key thing for Dortmund going forward is to maintain this consistency, too many times have they left people guessing which Dortmund is going to turn up. Niko Kovac has to find a way to not only get the best out of them in the league to maximise the chance of qualifying for Europe, but also in the Champions League, as they will have a tough test against Barcelona on the horizon.

With which Dortmund turns up next week, your guess is as good as mine.

Mainz need to now look over their shoulder, RB Leipzig’s loss yesterday helped them, but other teams such as Borussia Mönchengladbach are now breathing down their neck. Luckily, they have a favourable set of games ahead of them, so they can continue their quest for potential Champions League football. What the game did show was how fun Mainz are with their flicks and just overall style of play, especially compared to a Dortmund side who are lacking in this department.

(I know what you are going to say, ‘But Dortmund won!’, they did, but they are still a strange side to watch.)

Borussia Dortmund XI:

Gregor Kobel (5), Waldemar Anton (5), Emre Can (6), Nico Schlotterbeck (8), Yan Couto (5), Salih Özcan (6), Pascal Groß (6) Julian Ryerson (6), Julian Brandt (6), Karim Adeyemi (6), Maximilian Beier (7)

Others: Daniel Svensson (5), Niklas Süle (5), Carney Chukwuemeka (5), Ramy Bensebaini (-), Jamie Gittens)(-)

Mainz XI:

Robin Zentner (5), Danny Da Costa (5), Moritz Jena (5), Andreas Hanche-Olsen (5), Silvan Widmer (5), Nadiem Amiri (5), Kaishu Sano (6), Anthony Caci (5), Jae-Sung Lee (6), Paul Nebel (6), Jonathan Burkardt (5)

Others: Nelson Weiper (5), Hyun-Seok Hong (5), Nicolai Versatching (5), Arminido Sieb (-), Arnaud Nordin (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Nico Schlotterbeck (8)

Dortmund have somehow came to the conclusion that Schlotterbeck would be better at taking the corners than being a presence in the box. Turns out, it worked. The German provided two assists from corners this afternoon. However, it was not just on this end where he was effective.

Schlotterbeck was a rock at the back (via FotMob), the 25-year-old won 83% of his aerial duels, made five clearances and nine recoveries. In a game where Mainz dominated the ball. Schlotterbeck was key in limiting their chances in troubling Gregor Kobel.

GGFN | Jack Meenan