Borussia Dortmund dropped points for the 12th time on the road this season, as they drew 1-1 in Augsburg on Saturday afternoon, allowing Hoffenheim to draw level on points with the Black and Yellows, only separated by four goals on goal difference. Dortmund now have a must-winner against Werder Bremen on the final match day to ensure a third-place finish. The much tougher blow for BVB, however, was the broken ankle suffered by Julian Weigl.
Positives
Werder Bremen scored three goals after being five goals down against Hoffenheim on Saturday afternoon, making sure that Dortmund still have a slight cushion to fourth-place TSG on the following week. The Westphalians still have a third-place finish in their own hands, which is the best takeaway from an otherwise scrappy afternoon.
Negatives
Once again, the Ruhr side could not find a way to all three points on the road against a team battling relegation, as they were undone by a counterattack in which Philipp Max raced away from Matthias Ginter. Roman Burki spilt the shot for Alfred Finnbogason to push it over the line in the 28th minute. BVB trying to apply the offside trap beyond the halfway line was not exactly clever.
Losing Weigl to injury will be a tough blow. The 21-year-old's ankle took an awkward bend in the 22nd minute and suffered a break. The midfield maestro was crying as he was carried off the pitch on a stretcher.
Manager rating out of 10
5 -- This was the sort of game where only three points count.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Roman Burki, 6 -- Had to run all across his goal to deny Finnbogason from what otherwise had been a tap-in in the 17th minute. It was a save often seen by ice hockey goaltenders, only more spectacular. Roughly 10 minutes later, he was at full stretch to reach the shot of Max, but he placed it perfectly.
DF Lukasz Piszczek, 6 -- Started out as right wing-back but was later moved to centre-half as Tuchel wanted a speedier player at the back than Ginter.
DF Sokratis Papastathopoulos, 8 -- 100 percent aerial and tackling success, highest pass-completion rate of any BVB player (96.2 percent), the second highest amount of completed passes, 101. Saying that Sokratis was involved in the game is a cruel understatement.
DF Matthias Ginter, 6 -- Had some positioning errors early on as he was caught in two minds to whether run forward for an interception or backward to defend the goal. Ginter moved into defensive midfield after Weigl's injury and overall had a decent game.
DF Marcel Schmelzer, 7 -- The captain created momentum in the second half with some precise crossfield passes. He was a driving element in BVB's game and certainly not at fault for two dropped points.
MF Julian Weigl, NR -- One can only wish the youngster a quick recovery.
MF Shinji Kagawa, 7 -- Revealed in an interview with the club's own video platform that he appreciates beer and currywurst the most in Germany, which is a 10/10 rating for taste. He did grab an assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's goal and created a few more chances for his side against a dense Augsburg defence.
MF Ousmane Dembele, 6 -- The 19-year-old showed his skills in flashes, but as so often in recent weeks, lacked consistency over 90 minutes.
MF Raphael Guerreiro, 6 -- Tried to increase the speed of BVB's pace, playing the ball first time on numerous occasions. More often than not it yielded in a turnover. Could have scored in the second half, if it wasn't for Martin Hinteregger's extended leg.
MF Marco Reus, 5 -- Created two chances, but could have done so much more in this crucial match. Too many sloppy touches denied Reus a good game.
FW Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 6 -- Grabbed his 29th league goal, deflecting Kagawa's shot into the net, but was toppled by Robert Lewandowski in the league scoring race, who scored his 30th in Bayern's 5-4 come-from-behind win in Leipzig on Saturday.
Substitutes
MF Erik Durm, 6 -- Came on for Weigl and positioned himself as the right wing-back at first, but moved to the left wing toward the end of the game.
MF Christian Pulisic, NR -- The United States international replaced Guerreiro with 10 minutes left in regular time. He created some havoc with his first two plays but was shut down by the hosts quickly after that.
MF Sebastian Rode, NR -- Was brought on in the 89th minute without taking much influence on the game.