Schalke and Dortmund returned to action the only way they could have, with a Revierderby. Here are the player ratings from the match.
David Wagner kicked off the near-silent Bundesliga return with a three-at-the-back formation for Schalke that saw the long-awaited return of Salif Sane, the best aerial centerback in the world. Sane was supposed to be out for the year but was able to return thanks to the pause.
He was flanked on either side by Jean-Clair Todibo and Matija Nastasic to form a formidable wall.
Moving up the formation, it was clear that Wagner was taking no chances with only his most reliable players hitting the starting XI. Weston McKennie and Suat Serdar served as a midfield partnership, supported by Jonjoe Kenny and Bastian Oczipka as wingbacks.
Schalke’s player ratings from the Revierderby
And in the attack, Daniel Caligiuri found his way back into the side as a Revierderby hero next to Benito Raman and Amine Harit.
The game did flow Schalke’s way. Dortmund went up 2-0 fairly easily with Die Knappen not able to muster much of an attack to counter Dortmund’s dominance and it only got worse from there. If you still want it, here are the player ratings:
NOTE: There is no man of the match. Obviously.