Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal Player Ratings: Serhou Guirassy's Brace Does The Job For Dortmund As Villarreal's Valiant Effort Goes In Vain

The 2023/24 finalists Borussia Dortmund took on Villarreal at the Signal Iduna Park in their opening fixture of the league phase of the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 season, which panned out to be quite a cagey affair.

The first half saw the teams end it goalless, with just one shot on target from each side. Tajon Buchanan was kept at bay by Gregor Kobel in the 42nd minute, while Serhou Guirassy worked Péter Gulácsi in the final minute before the halftime whistle.

Borussia Dortmund had more possession, while Villarreal maitained the better xG, leaving all to play for in the second half. The deadlock was broken in the 53rd minute, when Maximilian Beier's cross was parried away by Péter Gulácsi, but only as far as a flat-footed Renato Veiga, as the ball hit the Portuguese and rolled into their own net to give the visitors the lead.

Villarreal CF equalized in the 66th minute through Santiago Mouriño, as the right-back beat Ryerson to head one in from a Georges Mikautadze cross. The hosts had to wait till the 80th minute to get the lead again, as Serhou Guirassy tapped home from close range to bag his UCL goal of the season.

Just three minutes later, he scored from the spot to make it three for Dortmund, giving his team a lot of breathing space in the final few minutes. However, he was on the wrong side of scoring as Nicolas Pépé's cross was punched across by Kobel, which was unfortunately bundled over by the Guinean striker.

In the end, Dortmund held onto their lead to pick up their first three points of the new UCL season.

Check out the Dortmund vs Villarreal Player Ratings below.

Key Takeaways

• Serhou Guirassy won the most aerial duels in this match (4).
• Marcel Sabitzer recorded the most key passes in this game (4).
• Santi Comesaña won the most tackles (5).

Dortmund Player Ratings vs Villarreal

Here are the Dortmund Player Ratings from the Dortmund vs Villarreal Player Ratings.

Villarreal Player Ratings vs Dortmund

See the Villarreal Player Ratings from the Dortmund vs Villarreal Player Ratings.

Man of the Match

Serhou Guirassy was the man of the match in this UCL encounter.

Worst Performer

Renato Veiga was the worst performer from Dortmund vs Villarreal.