Michy Batshuayi Peter Lous/Soccrates/Getty Images
DORTMUND, Germany -- Borussia Dortmund and Augsburg finished with one goal apiece on Monday night in Dortmund. Only 54,300 visitors attended the Westfalenstadion that usually fills 81,000 on Bundesliga matchdays, as more than 350 fan clubs and ultra groups boycotted the game to protest Monday night games and encourage fan-friendlier kickoff times.
Marco Reus had put the hosts ahead after 16 minutes but Dortmund failed to make their dominance in the first half count. Augsburg centre-back Kevin Danso scored the equaliser in the 73rd minute to snatch a point.
The Ruhr side moved one point clear of third-placed Schalke, but should have capitalised on RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt stumbling, as the going will only get tougher for the Black and Yellows with better opponents ahead in the coming weeks.
Positives
Maybe it was down to the fact that the game had the character of an exhibition match, but Dortmund looked far more composed offensively and defensively than in previous games. There certainly was more patience in the buildup play and the defensive runs left a less nervous impression. As a result, the hosts managed to control the match having all outfield players in the opposition half, holding Augsburg very far away from Roman Burki's goal.
Negatives
All of the above only held true for the first half. The Black and Yellows lost the plot after the break, letting the visitors back into the match. After Danso equalised, Dortmund needed far too much time to create scoring chances.
Manager rating out of 10
5 -- Peter Stoger remains unbeaten with Dortmund in the Bundesliga, but so do the questions about BVB's lack of an attacking plan.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Roman Burki, 6 -- Did well to save Danso's first attempt, but could not keep out the rebound. The Swiss international dealt relatively comfortably with the other four shots on his goal.
DF Lukasz Piszczek, 5 -- Defensively sound for the most part, but especially against a team that congests the middle, full-backs need to create more than Piszczek did.
DF Sokratis Papastathopoulos, 4 -- Lost Danso at the crucial corner kick and overall delayed BVB's passing game far too often.
DF Omer Toprak, 6 -- Far calmer than his Greek counterpart.
DF Marcel Schmelzer, 5 -- Similar to Piszczek, Schmelzer ought to do more in attack against Augsburg.
MF Julian Weigl, 5 -- Was far improved after a stinker in BVB's 1-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach, but had some terrible giveaways that will lead to goals against better opponents.
MF Gonzalo Castro, 5 -- With Dortmund having a lot of possession in the final third, the devil was often in the details that chances were not created. Castro was often the culprit of slightly misplacing passes. Without having a torrid game, he was the first to leave the field after 62 minutes.
MF Marco Reus, 6 -- Instigated and scored Dortmund's goal, but there was not much seen of "Mr. 1-0" afterwards.
MF Mario Gotze, 5 -- Had the ideas but lacked the execution to unlock Augsburg's attack more consistently.
MF Andre Schurrle, 6 -- Made up for some technical mishaps with a huge effort.
FW Michy Batshuayi, 4 -- The forward struggled to find himself at the end of scoring opportunities and looked too often not be on the same page as his teammates.
Substitutes
MF Mahmoud Dahoud, 4 -- Coming on for Castro, Dahoud's presence did not improve BVB's midfield. On the contrary, the 22-year-old misplaced passes even more frequently and with less pressure.
MF Christian Pulisic, NR -- Arguably should have come on earlier in the match to make darting runs into the box.