After what seemed a promising start to their season, Borussia Dortmund end 2022 with successive defeats in the Bundesliga and come Saturday evening, could find themselves nine points behind Bayern Munich after 15 games. Beforehand, BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said this had to be a game they must win but 1-0 down inside four minutes, it couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start.
Julian Brandt did equalise after 19 minutes but quickfire goals from Ramy Bensebaini and Marcus Thuram put Daniel Farke’s side in complete control. Nico Schlotterbeck pulled a goal back five minutes before half-time, which gave BVB with a shout of going home with at least a point, but again Terzic’s side lacked concentration and conceded a fourth just seconds after the break. With Dortmund’s next Bundesliga game not under January 22 because of the World Cup and then a winter break, it will be a long couple of months for BVB fans.
Borussia Mönchengladbach – 4 (Hofmann, Bensebaini, Thuram, Koné)
Jan Olschowsky, 7 – Just his second Bundesliga game following injuries to Yann Sommer and Tobias Sippel, Jan Olschowsky did an excellent job in goal – 6 saves and a 95% pass accuracy.
Joe Scally, 6
Marvin Friedrich, 6
Nico Elvedi, 6
Ramy Bensebaini, 7 – With less than one-year on his remaining deal, the Algerian will be a wanted man. A threat from set pieces, Bensebaini headed Gladbach into a 2-0 lead after 26 minutes, a thumping header for his fifth of the season. What he lacks in pace, he makes up for in the final third, an outstanding left-back.
Julian Weigl, 6
Manu Koné, 8 – The young Frenchman is establishing himself into one of Europe’s best progressive midfielders. Always looked to advance the ball tonight and was rewarded with his first Bundesliga goal of the season 46 seconds into the second-half. Gives Die Fohlen a spark in central-midfield, reads the game well and is confident on the ball.
Jonas Hofmann, 8 – Involved in 3 of the 4 goals.
Christoph Kramer, 6
Lars Stindl, 7
Marcus Thuram, 8 – After his omission from the France squad, Thuram showcased his skillset tonight. Farke was happy to counter-attack against Dortmund and the 25-year-old got the better of an already disjoined defence. The Frenchman took his goal superbly, running beyond the BVB defence but having the composure to round Gregor Kobel and place the ball into an empty net – his 10th Bundesliga goal of the season, matching his best tally.
Others: Patrick Herrmann (6), Ko Itakura (-), Nathan Ngoumou (-), Luca Netz (-)
Borussia Dortmund – 2 (Brandt, Schlotterbeck)
Gregor Kobel, 6
Niklas Süle, 4
Mats Hummels, 2 – One of Borussia Dortmund’s better players this season but calamitous tonight. Lacked leadership, struggled alongside Süle and Schlotterbeck and lucky to see Gladbach’s fifth ruled out for a challenge on the German in the build-up, a decision that could have gone either way.
Nico Schlotterbeck, 2 – A night to forget for Schlotterbeck. He and Hummels allowed Thuram to dander past BVB’s defensive block on two occasions, one which resulted in the Frenchman finding the net. A slip almost allowed Borussia Mönchengladbach to capitalise. Did get on the scoresheet.
Raphael Guerreiro, 5
Emre Can, 5
Jude Bellingham, 6
Gio Reyna, 6
Julian Brandt, 6
Donyell Malen, 3 – Lasted 71 minutes and on the day that he was omitted from Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands squad for the World Cup, Malen put in a poor performance. 43 touches, 65% pass completion, no successful dribbles and lost the ball on 16 occasions. Has to start performing soon.
Youssoufa Moukoko, 5
Others: Thorgan Hazard (5), Salih Özcan (5), Anthony Modeste (-), Karim Adeyemi (-), Antonios Papadopoulos (-)
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
