The Revierderby returned to our screens as we watched Lucien Favre’s Dortmund put their rivals to the sword and come away 4-0 victors. Wagner’s Schalke were poor defensively, pressing high in numbers but were bypassed too easily and were left vulnerable. They used a 3-4-3 for most of the game, allowing space behind their wing backs which Dortmund’s wing backs, Hakimi and Guerriero took advantage of. Schalke’s heads dropped in the second half and lost a lot of energy without their fans there to keep them going and try to fight back.
Weston McKennie
Player Profile:
- Nationality: American
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 28/08/1998
- Current Club: Schalke
- Career: FC Dallas (Y), Schalke
- Position: Central Midfield
- Secondary Position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
The American international was the only Schalke player who have a good account of himself in what was a disappointing performance. McKennie played as the right sided central midfielder and defended well individually. He read play, was well positioned and was often in the right place at the right time. He pressed well in midfield, doing a good job at lurking before jumping in to win the ball. He made 4 tackles and 5 interceptions, his highest number in either statistic this season.
He worked hard, playing with intensity out of possession, using his body and being strong in challenges. He’s 6’0″ with a solid frame and good speed over short distances, which helped his pressing in the midfield.
On the ball he was less impressive. Schalke had 40% of possession in this game and lacked a midfield presence and leaving McKennie very isolated. They struggled to progress the ball and McKennie as the lone midfielder had little chance to receive and play. He isn’t the most progressive player anyway, lacking passing range and could receive and play better in tight spaces at times. He made a few sloppy passes and overhit his attempts at diagonal balls but was mostly conservative with his passing and under pressure constantly.
Rating – A2
Suat Serdar
Player Profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 11/04/1997
- Current Club: Schalke
- Career: Mainz, Schalke
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Secondary Position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Serdar struggled to have an impact on the game. He is a high volume dribbler who wanted to carry through midfield but was pressed by Dortmund who easily won the ball from him over and over. He lost possession a lot but still he showed good ball control and elegance on the ball but made poor decisions, running into traffic and taking too long to release. And when he did try to pass after carrying he was sloppy and usually had no options.
Defensively he was rash, trying to challenge for the ball with poor technique, committing several fouls in dangerous areas and lacked quality. He pressed well a few times but was largely bypassed easily and not effective enough. He didn’t offer himself to teammates in possession enough either and didn’t get that much of the ball before being subbed off in the 74th minute.
Rating – C
Jean-Clair Todibo
Player Profile:
- Nationality: French
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 20/12/1999
- Current Club: Schalke, on loan from Barcelona
- Career: Toulouse, Barcelona, Schalke (L)
- Position: Centre Half
- Secondary Position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Todibo was brought off at half time after not making much of an impact and picking up some knocks in the first half. He showed quality but didn’t have the standout performance that many would have expected from him. On the ball he’s confident and elegant despite his height, but allowed too much pressure and although he didn’t get dispossessed he struggled to then clear his lines and evade the pressure that well.
He was positioned wide in the build up and took progressive touches. Schalke were poor in buildup so he struggled to advance the ball much as he lacked options and made a few attempts to carry the ball into midfield, showing his attacking attitude and decent feet.
He was keen to press out from the back line and enter the midfield, enjoying playing in a back five, which allowed him to do this. He made a key, impressive block of a dangerous low cross but otherwise was too laid back. He wasn’t the type of defender who enjoys defending and being physical, and didn’t react well in a game where his side were being dominated.
Rating – B2
Jonjoe Kenny
Player Profile:
- Nationality: English
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 28/08/1998
- Current Club: Schalke, on loan from Everton
- Career: Everton, Wigan (L), Oxford (L), Schalke (L)
- Position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Kenny had a disappointing performance where he was quite invisible and unnoticeable, struggling to make an impact. He barely touched the ball in the final third as Schalke’s attacks came from counter attacks through the middle mainly. He was conservative and simple on the ball, not carrying it forward. He was very quiet in and out of possession and there wasn’t much to judge him on at all. He did make one nice switch but attempted no crosses and didn’t complete a pass into the box.
Rating – D
Amine Harit
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Moroccan
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 16/6/1997
- Current Club: Schalke
- Career: Nantes, Schalke
- Position: 10
- Secondary Position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Playing on the left wing in this game Harit was fairly uninvolved. He failed to play forward much, he hugged the left sideline quite tightly, looking for passes inside to move the ball centrally which he did quite well. He had a good first touch but Dortmund made it very difficult for him to receive the ball and he was afforded very little space in the attacking half.
I thought he was under-utilised on the left and would have been better as the driving force of the counter attacks through the middle. He was limited to short passes to retain possession and struggled to retain the ball with his slight build. Dortmund dominated and nullified Schalke, and Harit with it who although showed decent pace and good technical ability he wasn’t able to do much in attack.
Rating – C
Rabbi Matondo
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Welsh
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 09/09/2000
- Current Club: Schalke
- Career: Cardiff (Y), Manchester City (Y), Schalke
- Position: Right Wing
- Secondary Position: Left Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
The Welsh international came on at half time. He is 5’9″ with a very slim frame and failed to have no impact on the game in the second half. He showed quick feet, good ball control and a good burst of pace but didn’t press very well. He was quiet, took his time of the ball and wasn’t able to do anything with it. I didn’t really get to see anything from him in the half he played.
Rating – C
Markus Schubert
Player Profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 12/06/1998
- Current Club: Schalke
- Career: Dynamo Dresden (Y), Schalke
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Preferred foot: Right
Schalke’s backup goalkeeper this season, Schubert had a game to forget. He allowed too much pressure and failed to clear his lines correctly, putting low balls into midfield to the Dortmund attackers. The first and fourth goals he stood little chance, beaten by great finishes. But didn’t make himself big enough on the second goals and the third goal was a powerful striker which went through him.
Rating – D