"We showed a lack of form, trust, precision and perseverance. We looked nervous and jittery." Those were the words of Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel following his team's 1-1 home draw in the first leg against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool on Thursday night. And they perfectly described the Black and Yellows performance.
The Dortmund coach wasn't sure why his team didn't find their regular form as one of Europe's top team of late. He didn't rule out that the hype surrounding the match -- and the return of Klopp to the Westfalenstadion -- might have affected his players.
The Reds were always going to frustrate Dortmund, but the home side can only blame themselves to travel to Anfield with a result that is less than ideal. The mental blockage of BVB's players was uncanny as the decision making looked abject and delayed. That should not take any credit away from Liverpool, who were one of the best prepared teams to visit Dortmund's stomping ground this season, but the Germans cannot be happy with themselves after Thursday night.
They have to shake the monkey off their back in the return leg or they will not progress to the next round in a tough game at Anfield. They can only thank their goalkeeper, who kept them within a fighting chance for a tense night to come next Thursday.
Player Ratings (1-10; 10=best; players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating):
GK Roman Weidenfeller, 9 -- Weidenfeller, who only gets to play in the Europa League for his team with Roman Burki Tuchel's first-choice for Bundesliga games, played the best match of his season.
There was nothing he could do about Divock Origi's deflected shot that rolled into the net to give the guests the lead in the first half. But he stood his ground to keep his team in the tie, as he defused numerous chances with world class saves. Philippe Coutinho in the 50th minute was the best of the bunch, as he dove to his right to stop the thunderbolt with a reflex save. He had a couple of one on ones with Origi to block and denied Liverpool three times within seconds in their best stretch of the game.
DF Lukasz Piszczek, 4 -- The right-back looked asleep for the opening 15 minutes, as he miscontrolled almost every ball. Deflecting Liverpool's only goal of the night into the net just added to an abject performance.
DF Mats Hummels, 8 -- The captain was once again marvelous for most of the match, playing beautifully weighted passes, making strong interceptions and creating opportunities moving forward. He even took scoring into his own hands, heading in Dortmund's sole goal of the night right after half-time from a corner.
DF Sven Bender, 5 -- In hindsight, Thomas Tuchel might have opted for Sokratis -- if the latter was fully fit after his gastric flu -- because Bender lacked the needed decisiveness when red shirts came flying at him.
Perhaps Tuchel anticipated the pressure Hummels would be under and hence chose Bender because of his distribution skills over Sokratis, but the Greek's ruthlessness was missing in BVB's central defence.
DF Marcel Schmelzer, 5 -- He had his arms in the air for the most part of the game because he demanded the ball to be played across to him from the other side of the field. You will rarely see Schmelzer with cramps, but against Liverpool the left-back hit his personal limit.
MF Erik Durm, 3 -- Starting Durm was a decision Tuchel probably regrets, as the right midfielder was shockingly harmless on the night. Often let down by his technical deficits he couldn't make up for it with his athleticism against Liverpool. Hence his substitution after 45 minutes came to little surprise.
MF Julian Weigl, 8 -- Without the injured Ilkay Gundogan, it was once again Weigl in Dortmund's central midfield who pulled all the strings. He was by far the most trusted Dortmund player, as he even received the ball when he was positioned in an obvious pressing trap. It's sometimes easy forget that Weigl is only 20 years old, but he was one of the few players that showed their usual form.
MF Gonzalo Castro, 4 -- His first half in the central midfield looked a bit more promising. Except for a sweet backheel to bring Reus into play there was little to see from Castro's perfect touch for the final pass. He admitted so in the post-match interview himself.
MF Henrikh Mkhitaryan, 5 -- He moved around a lot on the field throughout the game, always enjoying Liverpool's full attention. But even when he had time and space at hand he couldn't create the extra magic he so often does for his time. The Armenian's one moment came on the sublime cross that found Hummels for the equaliser.
MF Marco Reus, 4 -- Last season, Reus made the "three monkeys" goal celebration his own, but in recent weeks he has mostly been seen with his hands at the back of his head in despair over missed opportunities. One could call it a mini crisis for the Dortmund star, who has to rise to the occasion in the return leg.
FW Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 3 -- The narrative for Dortmund's poor play in the attack also includes the Gabonese forward, whose decision making was questionable for most parts of the game. He had a couple of bright ideas to play the ball first time, but the execution was shockingly poor. The lack of service by his teammates helped to make it a frustrating night for Aubameyang.
Substitutes:
MF Nuri Sahin, 6 -- Tuchel saw that he needed to change at half-time and brought on Sahin to catalyse BVB's build-up play. It worked out OK, but the Turkish international couldn't pull off the Hollywood pass he once was famous for. Gundogan was definitely missed on the night.
MF Christian Pulisic, N/A -- For fans of the U.S. national team, it's great news that Tuchel has the trust in the 17-year-old from Hershey, Pennsylvania. He was thrown into an important and difficult tie with 14 minutes left to play, while players like Shinji Kagawa remain on the bench.
DF Sokratis Papastathopoulos, N/A -- The centre-back was subbed in for Bender alongside Pulisic in the 76th and made one important block as Hummels' forward run exposed BVB's backline. The block was at the expense of a yellow card as he made sure Origi would not continue his run.