Samuele Inacio turned in the sort of performance that rarely registers in numbers alone. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder notched a perfect 10.0 rating in Wednesday's 5-0 dismantling of Hamburg-Eimsbütteler Ballspiel Club 1911 in the DFB Pokal, combining two goals with four key passes and 70 touches in a display of complete midfield control.
The scoreline told one story. Inacio's influence told another. He found the net twice, yes, but the damage extended well beyond those finishes. Four chances created, constant availability in build-up, the kind of performance that makes a lopsided cup tie feel like a masterclass rather than a mismatch.
Room to operate
Hamburg-Eimsbüttel, several tiers below Dortmund in the German pyramid, offered little resistance. That can make it harder, not easier, to dominate: space without pressure sometimes breeds sloppiness. Inacio used it as a stage. Every pass had intent, every movement pulled defenders or freed a teammate. When the game was already settled, he kept the tempo high.
A 10.0 rating does not appear often. It requires more than output, more than efficiency. It demands that a player do everything asked of them and then some, that they control a match from start to finish without a misstep. Inacio managed exactly that. Dortmund rolled on, but this was his night.