1-2 – BVB’s power play is not rewarded

Dennis-Julian Gottschlich reporting

A capacity crowd of 80,645 at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK saw two teams going for it in the first half. The visitors, however, were more ruthless in front of goal and took a 2-0 half-time lead through goals from Raffael (31 mins) and Kruse (40). Gladbach controlled the match up until Nordtveit got send off in the 70^th minute. In a pulsating finish to the tie, Jojic pulled one back for Borussia who had a goal disallowed as they pushed in vain for the equaliser.

The Scenario:

BVB went into the game as the league’s second-best team of 2014, having won five and picking up 16 of a possible 21 points from the first seven games. Gladbach had slipped from third to eighth in the Bundesliga after failing to win any their games in the second half of the season.

Personnel Matters:

BVB were without Reus (muscle problems) and Mkhitaryan (suspension) as well as the long-term absentees Bender, Blaszczykowski, Gündogan and Subotic. Lewandowski returned from injury to replace Schieber, while Hofmann made his debut in the starting line-up this season for Mkhitaryan. Gladbach had to do without the services of Jantschke, Mero, Wendt and Xhaka.

Tactics:

Borussia Dortmund set up in the usual 4-2-3-1 with three attacking midfielders, while Gladbach fielded a 4-4-2 with two attacking wingers, with Arango and Herrman constantly switching sides. Raffel joined Kruse up front as the second target man.

Game & Analysis:

Both sides started at a good pace and tried to put pressure on the opposition’s goal from the off. BVB’s Hofmann had the first chance of the game, but his effort from 16 yards lacked precision and did not trouble Gladbach’s goalkeeper Ter Stegen (6 mins). The lightning-quick Hermann then spurned a good chance at the other end when he found himself one-on-one with Weidenfeller, but his shot from a tight angle just eluded the far post (12 mins).

Large gusts of wind tore through the stadium and made it almost impossible to play long balls, and so both sides tried to push forward with short low passing movements. Midway through the first half, Hummels decided to go on a solo run, but after battling his way through four Gladbach defenders he was thwarted by Ter Stegen (23 mins). Five minutes later, Aubameyang won the ball in the middle of the Gladbach half, ran a few yards before unleashing a vicious drive which unfortunately only crashed against the crossbar (28 mins).

The Foles, who since Hermann’s 12^th minute opportunity had been more interested in stifling BVB’s attacks than creating chances themselves, then managed to score from their second meaningful attack of the game. Hermann jinked his way to the by-line before crossing the ball from the right to Raffael who somehow got his left foot to the ball and his effort wobbled past Weidenfeller and into the net (31 mins).

And it got worse for the Black n Yellows when again Hermann broke down the right flank before playing a long ball to Kruse on the left who danced past both Sokratis and the advancing Weidenfeller to slot home from the edge of the area to put Gladbach 2-0 in front (40).

After the break the visitors picked up where they had left off before the interval – on the attack. Kruse saw a fierce low effort from 20 yards saved by a brilliant stop from Weidenfeller (53 mins), while Herrman went close with a volley from a right-side cross that grazed the crossbar (60 mins).

BVB eventually stepped up a gear and pushed forward, but struggled to break through a well-marshalled Gladbach defence. Jürgen Klopp brought on Jojic for Kehl (63 mins) and Ducksch for Piszczek (67 mins) to inject more urgency into his side, and it almost paid off immediately when Lewandowski  drew a fine save from Ter Stegen with a curling effort from the edge of the box (66 mins).

The BVB supporters saw a glimmer of hope in the 70^th minute when Nordtveit, who only a minute earlier had received a yellow card for kicking the ball away, was send off by referee Aytekin for a second booking after a foul on Ducksch at the halfway line – a signal for the host to launch an all-out attack.

It took only seven minutes for the hosts to make full use of their one-man advantage when Jojic hammered home from the edge of the area from a corner which was not cleared properly (77 mins). The goal sent Signal Iduna Park into raptures, and the fans urged their team forward. BVB pressed Gladbach into their own and thought they had scored the equaliser through Ducksch in the 87^th minutes, but the goal was disallowed as the referee believed that Lewandowski had interfered with Ter Stegen before the goal. 

Teams & Goals

Bundesliga, Matchday 25
BORUSSIA DORTMUND – BOR. MÖNCHENGLADBACH  1-2 (0-2)

Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller – Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels, Schmelzer – Kehl, Sahin – Aubameyang, Hofmann, Großkreutz - Lewandowski
Bor. Mönchengladbach: ter Stegen – Korb, Stranzl, Dominguez, Daems – Nordtveit, Kramer – Herrmann, Arango – Kruse, Raffael
Substitutions: 63. Jojic for Kehl, 67. Ducksch for Piszczek, 82. Schieber for Aubameyang - 75. Marx for Kruse, 79. Rupp for Herrmann, 89. Brouwers for Raffael
Goals: 0-1 Raffael (31., Herrmann), 0-2 Kruse (40., Arango), 1-2 Jojic (77.)
Corners: 8-3 (HT 5-4), Chances: 8-6 (5-3)
Referee: Aytekin (Oberasbach), Red card: Nordtveit (69.,), Yellow card: Lewandowski
Attendance: 80,645 (sold-out), Weather: cloudy, 10 degrees

Prospects:

BVB have a busy schedule coming up as they welcome FC Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League last 16 return leg on Wednesday (kick-off: 2045 CET) before travelling to travel to Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga on Saturday (1530 CET).