Borussia Dortmund

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  Roman Weidenfeller

  Commanding off his line, but he was beaten four times by some well taken goals from the visitors. Conceded more than he saved today.

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  Neven Subotic

  Relatively solid in the first half as Stuttgart’s threat was somewhat limited, but much less convincing after the break, as he was beaten in the air by Ibisevic on a handful of set pieces. One costly lapse in concentration saw him horrendously out of position for the Bosnian’s goal with 20 minutes to go, and he looked nervy throughout the visitors’ second half recovery.

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  Mats Hummels

  A rock at the back for 79 minutes as he cut out everything that Stuttgart could throw at him, despite being hung out to dry by Subotic’s lapse before Ibisevic’s goal. At the other end of the pitch, a commanding challenge on Hajnal allowed him to deliver a precise crossfield ball for Kuba to score the Dortmund second, and a confident finish from the edge of the box brought the score to 3-3. However, he undid most of his good work with two dreadful errors late on – his failure to stop Schieber on a Stuttgart break and a missed header in injury time, which ended up costing his team the third and fourth goals, and ultimately maximum points.

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  Lukasz Piszczek

  Once again gave a display full of drive and enterprise in the opposition half. As ever, he provided a great outlet down the right, with one marauding run ending with a powerful drive that smacked against the post. In his own half of the field though, he was not nearly as efficient, as he was caught out repeatedly by Stuttgart in the second half.

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  Marcel Schmelzer

  A fantastic cross allowed Kehl to knock down a ball for Kagawa’s opener, and another great delivery from a corner set up Perisic for the fourth. As the second half wore on, it appeared to be another consistent showing in both halves of the field from the left back. It was not to be though, as a miscommunication with Hummels just before the final whistle cost his side maximum points.

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  Sebastian Kehl

  Sprung up fantastically well to cushion a header into Kagawa’s path for the opener, and registered another assist for setting Hummels on his way for the third. Run a little ragged during the latter stages of the second half though, and surrendered possession in the buildup to Schieber’s second, even though he appeared to have been clipped.

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  Jakub Blaszczykowski

  With his marker Boka all at sea on the left side of the Stuttgart defence, Kuba was often presented with the opportunity to slip into the area unnoticed. One snap shot in the first half flew just wide, but he made no mistake a few minutes after the restart, as he was left in space to finish off a fine pass from Hummels.

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  Kevin Großkreutz

  At times, he was left in a lot of space in the box as Stuttgart’s marking scheme switched off. One such opening teed him up for a shot that hit the bar. Willing runner as always, but was replaced with 10 minutes to go as his influence on the game waned.

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  Ilkay Gündogan

  Showed the world what kind of player he can become, with a devastatingly effective playmaking display. Never looked like losing possession as he probed the spaces between the Stuttgart midfield and defensive lines. His exquisite passing laid on chance after gilt edged chance for his teammates, with one such ball releasing Schmelzer in the buildup to the opener, and another otherworldly pass playing in Lewandowski. His wayward shooting was the only blot on what was otherwise a breakout game for the youngster. It was perhaps telling that Dortmund fell apart soon after his withdrawal in the 67th minute.

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  Robert Lewandowski

  With Gundogan pulling the strings with impunity, the Pole played most of the game on the shoulder of the last defender. He was put through on goal by an outstanding pass from the Turkish born midfielder, but after rounding Ulreich, saw his header cleared off the line by Niedermeier. Played in Piszczek once with a well weighted pass from which his compatriot hit the post, before seeing a late shot saved by Ulreich.

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  Shinji Kagawa

  Continued his great run of form with his fifth goal in as many games, and his 12th overall in the league this season. Was in the right place at the right time to smash home a Kehl knockdown from close range, and was a menace with his swift dashes into pockets of space. Taken off late on though, as his stamina seemed to have run out.

Substitutions

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  Ivan Perisic

  Came off the bench to make a decisive contribution, with a confident finish from a corner putting the score at 4-3 with only a few minutes to go. However, his team could not hold on.

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  Sven Bender

  Helped shore up the midfield in the closing stages, with a great interception on a Kuzmanovic through ball standing out.

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  L. Barrios

  Only touched the ball once or twice in his short spell on the pitch

VfB Stuttgart

2.63

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  3.50

  Sven Ulreich

  Suspect in the air as he completely misjudged one or two crosses, and could have probably gotten a hand to Hummels’ goal. One athletic stop from Lewandowski late on and a timely save on Kagawa was the highlight of his game.

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  2.50

  Gotoku Sakai

  Had his moments at the back with a few authoritative blocks, while he was sometimes able to keep Grosskreutz from seeing too much space. However, on a pair of chances where BVB elected to cross the ball into the box from the opposite flank, he was nowhere to be found as Grosskreutz was left completely unmarked.

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  3.50

  Georg Niedermeier

  A true warrior’s performance. Left absolutely everything on the pitch, unafraid to throw his body in front of whatever BVB sent towards his goal. It was hard to keep track of the amount of crucial tackles and headers made by him today, not to mention a series of brilliant goal line clearances from him as the covering defender. Set up Ibisevic for the first Stuutgart goal to boot, which ended up sparking their comeback. Surely one of the best individual defensive displays of the Bundesliga season.

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  2.50

  Francisco Javier Rodríguez

  Taken apart with regularity by the running of Kagawa and Lewandowski, as he failed to adjust to the pace of the game. Gave Hummels the freedom of the pitch to score the third, a result of his failure to communicate with his fellow defenders.

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  1.00

  Arthur Boka Flop of the Match

  The Ivorian was caught out with regularity as his positioning was of an extremely poor standard all game. Simply could not sort himself out, and was nowhere to be found when Kuba fired home Dortmund’s second. Hauled off after an hour to put an end to a miserable outing.

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  William Kvist Jörgensen

  Given the runaround by the constant movement of the Dortmund midfield, as he struggled to hold things together in the centre of the park. Nearly scored a stunning goal with a blistering shot from outside the box that cannoned back off the inside of the post.

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  2.00

  Martin Harnik

  Limited impact out wide, as he was often isolated when his team were in possession. Failed to track back on a number of occasions, leaving Sakai stranded. Came alive for a brief spell with 20 minutes or so to go, but that did not mask a poor game.

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  2.50

  Zdravko Kuzmanovic

  Never got close to making his mark in the centre of the park, unless you count a kick out in the direction of the sprinting Lewandowski that could have so nearly seen him receive his marching orders. A virtual sieve at times.

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  2.00

  Tamas Hajnal

  Was active in the early goings as he found space in the BVB half, but his end product was mostly sub-par, save for one glorious cross to Schieber that saw his teammate miss from point blank range. Was robbed of the ball far too easily by Hummels en route to Kuba’s goal.

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  Vedad Ibisevic

  Lucky not to be booked for an early dive on a charge by Weidenfeller, and spent the first half in relative anonymity. However, it was his combination with Niedermeier and subsequent goal that brought Stuttgart back into the game. A handful to deal with in the air as well.

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  3.50

  Julian Schieber Top of the Match

  Missed a great chance early on after firing a Hajnal cross over the bar, but was able to recover in glorious fashion in the second half. Two opportunistic finishes in two minutes completed his team’s comeback at the time from a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead. Denied an incredible hat-trick as he was taken off with five minutes to go.

Substitutions

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  2.50

  Cristian Molinaro

  Replaced the shambolic Boka and instantly provided a more solid presence at left back for the remaining half hour.

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  3.00

  Christian Gentner

  Came on with 20 minutes to go and ended up saving a point for the visitors with a clever turn and finish under pressure at the death.

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  Mamadou Djouldé Bah

  Came on for hero of the night Schieber, but could not make an impact.