3-1 - BVB emerge victorious in pulsating encounter

Dennis-Julian Gottschlich reports from Mönchengladbach

A sell-out crowd of 54,010 at Borussia Park watched on as both teams put in an open, very impressive performance. A Reus opener (41') gave BVB a deserved half-time lead, before an unmarked Mkhitaryan struck after the interval (50'). Raffael pulled one back for Gladbach (58'), before Gündogan sealed the win for the visitors (75').

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The scenario:
Second-placed BVB travelled to fourth-placed Mönchengladbach, making the first match back after the 34-day winter break a real top-of-the-table clash. BVB boasted the marginally better record with 30 wins, 29 defeats and 28 draws - thanks to a resounding 4-0 victory on Matchday 1 of the current campaign. However, the Black and Yellows had not won in Gladbach since 2009.

Personnel matters:
In addition to Sahin and Schmelzer (training deficit), Thomas Tuchel was without Bender (tendon injury). Park replaced Schmelzer at left full-back, while Castro lined up alongside Gündogan in the centre. There was good news for Erik Durm, who was included in the BVB squad for the first time since the DFB Cup final on 30 May 2015 following a successful knee operation. Foals coach Andre Schubert was without a number of key players, including Dominguez (back operation), Hahn (broken tibial plateau), Jantschke, Herrmann and Schulz (all cruciate ligament), as well as captain Xhaka (suspended).

Tactics:
BVB lined up in a flexible 4-1-4-1 system in which full-backs Park and Piszczek consistently pushed up into midfield in a bid to outnumber their opponents. Reus (right) and Mkhitaryan (left) occupied the wide midfield positions, while the more offensive and more defensive central midfield roles were fulfilled by Castro and Gündogan respectively. Gladbach adopted a classic 4-4-2 formation and constantly pushed high up, leaving gaps for BVB to exploit on the counter.

The match & analysis:
Both teams put in an impressive, attack-minded performance from the start, with BVB enjoying slightly more of the ball while Gladbach boasted the marginally better tackle win rate. The Black and Yellows created two promising chances in the opening 10 minutes, but the finishing from both Gündogan (2') and Aubameyang (9') was found wanting. At the other end, Gladbach's Christensen headed the ball goalbound from close range following the game's first corner kick, but the ball skimmed the top of the bar and went over (6').

It remained an entertaining encounter in which M'gladbach might have broken the deadlock if Wendt had not fired wide from 15 metres out. A promising opportunity fell to Aubameyang when a rebound landed at his feet eight metres from goal. Custodian Sommer, however, came rushing out of his goal to deny the Gabon international (26').

Reus with the deserved opener

BVB were on the front foot for the rest of the first period, and consistently managed to penetrate Gladbach's high defensive line. Gündogan hit a shot from 20 metres which struck the woodwork (33'), before Aubameyang (36') and Reus (39') both spurned opportunities. Shortly before the break, however, the Black and Yellows finally took a deserved lead: Gündogan played a perfectly-timed ball from midfield to Reus, who drilled the ball into the far corner from seven metres (41'). Aubameyang could have doubled the lead if he had been able to capitalise on Sommer's error (42'), before Mkhitaryan shot wide from close range (42').

Gladbach came out all guns blazing after the break, looking for a quick goal to restore parity, but Traore was denied as Bürki came charging off his line to make a strong save (48'). The hosts' approach left BVB with more space, which Reus and Mkhitaryan used to good effect. BVB countered down the right with Reus who cut inwards and threaded the ball through to the Armenian, who slotted the ball in the far corner to make it 2-0!

The home side kept going, however, and pulled one back only eight minutes later. When BVB failed to clear the ball, Raffael was on hand to rifle it into the bottom-right corner from 11 metres out. It was end to end now: Aubameyang missed from a narrow angle, then Hummels denied Traore as VfL countered (60'). Then Aubameyang squandered a close-range chance after being thwarted by Christensen (62') and soon after, the Gabon international was clean through against shot-stopper Sommer, but missed narrowly after cutting inside Wendt (72').

Gladbach open up, Gündogan scores

Only two minutes later, the Gladbach goalie was facing another counter-attack with his team now leaving huge gaps. This time Sokratis found Mkhitaryan, who crossed into the centre, where Gündogan met the ball on the volley from six metres out for BVB's third (75') - a goal which took the wind out of the Foals' sails somewhat. Another positive for BVB was the return of Erik Durm (70'), who made his comeback after eight months out. Former BVB player Hofmann, who also made a substitute appearance, missed the chance to pull another back for VfL on 83 minutes, as did Stindl in the final minute.

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Prospects:
Borussia Dortmund's next match comes tomorrow when they play a friendly to mark the 50th birthday of 1. FC Union Berlin at the Stadion an der Alten Försterei in the capital (kick-off 17:00 CET). You will find the match info here. Next Saturday (30/1 at 15:30 CET), FC Ingolstadt travel to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK in the Bundesliga.

Teams & goals