Borussia Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel has lauded Mario Gotze's performance in his second debut for the club in the narrow 1-0 defeat against RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, as reported byESPN FC.
The Germany international, 23, returned to the Signal Iduna Park in a £21m deal from Bayern Munich during the summer after failing to cement himself in the starting eleven.
But since making his return to his boyhood club, Tuchel chose to keep the attacking midfielder on the bench due to a few fitness issues. He was, however, unleashed in Dortmund's second Bundesliga game of the season against Leipzig.
The match ended 1-0 to the home side after a late Naby Keita strike, but Tuchel was impressed with what he saw from Gotze, with Dortmund left-back Marcel Schmelzeralso delighted with the performance.
"Especially in the first half, he played a very good match," Tuchel said, while club captain Schmelzer added: "He was always there to receive the pass."
Gotze was not on the field to stop Leipzig's late winner after being substituted in the 71st minute, with Tuchel putting the change down to a tactical decision in the hope of finding a winner of their own.
The 43-year-old added:"We wanted to introduce new players, and changed the formation a bit."
Gotze, who labelled the defeat as "bitter" after failing to achieve their "goal" of three points, is expected to line up in Dortmund's return to Champions League football on Wednesday against Polish outfit Legia Warsaw.