The performance is good, but Borussia Mönchengladbach also loses against Union Berlin – for Adi Hütter the situation is getting dicey.
Adi Hütter kept his composure. After the next low blow for Borussia Mönchengladbach, the badly scratched coach pressed his lips together, gave his players a high five and left the lawn.
Jonas Hofmann summarized the mood in Gladbach after this extremely unfortunate 1: 2 (1: 1) against Union Berlin.
“We give it back at the end and it pisses you off,” said the international sky: “We worked hard, fought, threw ourselves in, we deserved to win. But we weren’t awake at the decisive moment and are back empty-handed. It’s not good enough what we’re doing defensively as a whole team at the moment.”
In the end there was the fourth home bankruptcy in a row, the pressure on Hütter, who was brought in at the beginning of the season, is growing, Borussia is finally in a relegation battle. The Köpenickers, on the other hand, can dream of the Champions League.
Max Kruse scores twice
Ex-Gladbach player Max Kruse (18th/hand penalty, 84th) scored twice for the Berliners, who have been unbeaten in six competitive games. On the other hand, Borussia, who started with big goals, suffered the next setback three days after the cup embarrassment at second division Hannover 96, the interim equalization by Kouadio “Manu” Kone (40th) was not enough.
Hütter spoke of the “most difficult situation in my 13-year career” before the game and announced personnel changes. The storm duo Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea, who were once so accurate, then took a seat on the bench, and captain Lars Stindl was injured in the final training session and will be out for several weeks.
Stindl’s absence was initially not noticeable. The 750 spectators saw Borussia trying to control themselves, attacking Union early and showing more willingness to run than last time.
A penalty then abruptly stopped Gladbach’s efforts: After a handball by Denis Zakaria, referee Felix Brych pointed to the point according to the video images. Kruse didn’t miss the chance and converted safely. Borussia caused four penalties in the last three competitive games.
Gladbach the much more active team
Union now withdrew even deeper. Gladbach let the ball run through Hofmann, who was in the starting XI for the first time this year after his knee operation, but there was little sign of determination. Only shortly before the break did Kone measure up after a nice move and didn’t give Frederik Rönnow a chance.
After the break, an intense game characterized by duels and interruptions developed on the deep grass. The much more active team was Gladbach, especially the powerful Kone caused unrest with clever passes.
However, the level remained manageable, and despite the high pressure from the Hütter team, there were hardly any chances. Luca Netz (77th) missed the best – and then Kruse was there again.
Borussia Mönchengladbach – Union Berlin: The voices
Adi Hütter (Borussia Mönchengladbach coach): “It was rather a game with few chances in terms of clear chances to score. Union made two goals out of one chance. After 20 minutes we played well, my team showed a different face than against Hannover. In terms of performance, both in tactics as well as in running, I can blame my team for 0.0.”
Urs Fischer (Coach Union Berlin): “We started the game well, but then we didn’t start consistently. We were lucky there too. Both teams didn’t create many chances in the second half. Then Gladbach can take the lead and we almost shoot in return the goal. That suits the situation of the two teams a bit, that in the end we are definitely the happier winners.”
Borussia Mönchengladbach – Union Berlin: The line-ups
