Reus stunner seals 1-0 victory for Dortmund in Gladbach

Dennis-Julian Gottschlich reporting

A crowd of 54,018 fans at a sold-out Borussia-Park watched a match in which both sides struggled on the sub-standard pitch. But that didn't stop the game from developing into a fast-paced and entertaining encounter, even if passages of play in and around the penalty area were few and far between. BVB opened the scoring in the first period courtesy of a sublime goal from Reus (32) but it was Gladbach who had the better opportunities after the restart, with Bürki forced to make several saves to keep the BVB lead intact and help them see out the victory.

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The scenario:
Fourth-placed Dortmund went to tenth-placed Mönchengladbach knowing a win would see them climb up to second place for a night at least, while a victory for the hosts would lift them to seventh. The Black & Yellows were unbeaten in seven Bundesliga outings and had won every game against Gladbach since the start of the 2015/16 season – scoring at least three per game and 20 in total!

Personnel matters:
Peter Stöger made two changes to the starting XI that claimed a 3-2 victory over Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League three days ago, with Akanji and Götze replacing Toprak and Pulisic respectively. BVB were without Kagawa , Guerreiro, Philipp, Sancho, Yarmolenko, Durm and Rode, while M’gladbach were missing Doucouré, Villalba, Wendt, Johnson, Strobl and Traoré.

Tactics:
The Black & Yellows fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation in which Götze took over a central role in the attacking midfield trio, while Reus mainly featured on the right flank but regularly drifted inside. Weigl (right) and Castro (left) kept their places in front of the back four, albeit on opposite sides to the ones they occupied against Atalanta on Thursday. Gladbach lined up in a 4-4-2 formation in which the forward players flexibly interchanged positions.

The match & analysis:
Right from the start, both teams had difficulties playing on a pitch that had certainly seen better days and was not fit for the purpose of hosting a Bundesliga match. The surface was so cut up that quick link-up play was more or less impossible, resulting in misplaced passes on both sides, but that didn't stop either team from trying to keep the tempo high and making the best of the bad conditions. The first really good chance fell to Stindl on the 13-minute mark, the forward somehow bursting through into the box and shooting from 12 metres only to be denied by a strong stop from Bürki. It was to remain the only real moment of danger going forward for either side for some time. Because although the hosts appeared to be dealing with the difficult conditions better than their visitors, they still couldn't find a way to manoeuvre themselves into shooting positions.

Players were repeatedly slipping and balls were bobbling up. It wasn't until the 32nd minute that BVB had their first shot at Sommer's goal, but what a strike it was! Götze lofted the ball forward to Schürrle, who sidestepped Ginter in the box and picked out Reus with a pass across the penalty area. Gathering the ball in plenty of space, Reus broke the deadlock with an unstoppable, swerving effort that went in off the underside of the bar from 14 metres out. Vestergaard thought he had equalised for the hosts ten minutes later but it was correctly disallowed for offside and the decision was subsequently verified by video assistant Wolfgang Stark. In first-half stoppage time Hazard broke through nicely down the left but he dragged his effort from 12 metres narrowly wide of the back post (45+1). Then, with half-time looming, Götze, Schürrle and Reus were all involved in a move that ultimately fizzled out inside the six-yard box (45+4).

Both Borussias continued to struggle with the surface after the restart, with the next moment of danger not coming until the 56-minute mark. Bürki did well to save Stindl's shot and then, having failed to hold on to it, reacted brilliantly to deny Bobadilla on the follow-up before Akanji finally made a goal-line clearance to avert the danger. The chance served as a wake-up call for BVB, who emerged unscathed from a spell of pressure from their hosts. Reus almost doubled the score a short while later but his effort from 15 metres was too central and Sommer gathered comfortably (61). Another chance soon followed for BVB to double their advantage in the 63rd minute but Piszczek and Castro both had shots blocked within a short space of time, then Bürki made a strong save to deny a close-range header from Elvedi at the other end (70). In the closing stages Bobadilla again tested Bürki, who was equal to it, before Sommer plucked the ball from the feet of Reus (78). The match remained on a knife edge in the final minutes but BVB held on for the victory.

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Outlook:
BVB's next game is their UEFA Europa League Round of 32 second leg against Italian outfit Atalanta in Reggio Emilia on Thursday evening (22 February, 21:05 CET). That match will be followed by a Bundesliga trip to Augsburg on the Monday (26 February, 20:30 CET).

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