Borussia’s late luck against Union

Borussia Mönchengladbach and Union Berlin played a tough and sometimes unsightly Bundesliga game for long stretches. The Foals’ victory thanks to Čvančara’s late goal was fortunate, but by no means undeserved. The individual criticism:

Moritz Nicolas: Had to grab a Hollerbach shot at the start, otherwise Borussia’s keeper had a quiet afternoon. Nicolas solved the few compulsory tasks safely and had the necessary luck when Vertessen shot outside the post. The 26-year-old acted seriously in the build-up to the game, only a dangerous pass through the middle to the covered Weigl was unnecessary and dangerous. Nicolas missed a few opportunities to make the game quick. Although it wasn’t as obvious as with Omlin, who often stands with the ball at his feet for a long time, it was still worth noting. It is obviously a tactical requirement for the goalkeepers to initiate the build-up. Nicolas will be particularly happy about the clean slate. Note 3.0.

Joe Scally: Had to fight some close defensive duels in the opening quarter of an hour, in which he defended attentively and consistently. As the game progressed, the American was able to move forward more consistently and hit the cross for Sander’s chance. He was involved in two or three other good combinations, but on a few occasions it wasn’t productive to (over-)challenge Scally on the side to build up the play. It should be emphasized that the 21-year-old, with his physicality, was not an easy victim for the Union team. The yellow card was for an unnecessary elbow check on the touchline, where the opponent’s hand got into his face first in this duel. Note 3.5.

Ko Itakura: Even in the early stages, when Union were getting off to a flying start, they didn’t lose track and had everything under control. The Japanese was attentive in the duels and the harmless Berlin attackers did not pose any major challenges to him. However, he was left behind in the final phase against Vertessen before he hit the post. The 27-year-old was often the starting point in the opening stages of the game, so he ultimately had the most of all players on the pitch with 115 ball contacts. A few times you turn cleverly in space and away from your opponent. However, Itakura wasn’t particularly imaginative with the ball at his feet. His passes were safe, but neither surprising nor sharp. Note 3.5.

Nico Elvedi: At the beginning, the Swiss was challenged when he blocked a Berlin shot attempt in the penalty area in time. Otherwise, he and Itakura had everything under control; Elvedi had prepared well for the duel with his ex-colleague Jordan. Jordan was only rarely able to secure the ball and put it down; actions with his face towards the goal did not help the slow-looking attacker against Elvedi. When building up the game, the Swiss limited himself to safe passes; a few suggested advances were the exception. A reception error in midfield was very slight, luckily it happened far enough away from the danger zone. Note 3.5.

Luca Netz: He wasn’t overly challenged in defense, but when it came to tackling the ball he did a good job and it was positive to notice that he successfully fought his two header duels with the right timing. Because the game is built up either through Scally or through the middle, Netz moved up wide on the left. There he found space because neither Plea nor Stöger occupied the wing. The 21-year-old came up with a few actions, including assisting Stöger after a one-two with Plea. After the break, when Union defended even more compactly, Netz was no longer able to contribute much. What was annoying was that he repeatedly made minor and major mistakes with the ball, which resulted from either technical deficiencies or a lack of concentration. Note 4.0.

Julian Weigl: As expected, he had a lot of duels with Khedira & Co in the narrow midfield. The positive thing was that he showed healthy stability together with Sander and didn’t allow the Union team to gain the upper hand with their robust style of play. But the truth is that the captain contributed very little that was surprising in the way the game was structured. Most of them were security passes without any particular severity. With 104 ball contacts, a little more should have come out of this. Weigl was the fastest-running Borussia player (12.4 km) and became really noticeable again after the opening goal when he went vehemently several times. Note 3.5.

Philip Sander: Was a bit surprising in the starting line-up because his qualities as a ‘stabilizing six’ didn’t seem particularly necessary against an opponent who wasn’t exactly known for their total offense. After some difficulties at the beginning, Sander and Weigl ensured that the midfield was neutralized. Sander was diligent in his actions, but one couldn’t help but get the impression that he still has to get used to the pace of the first division. This could be seen, among other things, in a situation when he did not approach the ball and in another scene when, after winning a duel, he carried the ball too carelessly and did not expect the opponent to follow up. Offensively, the 26-year-old then had a well-rehearsed free-kick variation and a Scally cross had a good opportunity to shoot, but over the box. In the second round he hit a left cross to Kleindienst. With a quarter of an hour to go, Sander made way for Reitz. Note 4.0.

Nathan Ngoumou: Was in the starting line-up for the second time in a row and was allowed to play on ‘his’ right side again due to Honorat’s absence. In one situation he moved well inside, but shot centrally at the goal with his left. His actions as a preparer were unfortunate: sometimes inaccurate, sometimes blocked, sometimes wrong decisions or hit the goal too hard. Nevertheless, the Frenchman indicated that he can make a difference if he really gets trust – especially from himself. Unfortunately, he had to go off injured in the 76th minute. Note 4.0.

Kevin Stöger: After a complicated initial phase, he found himself better within the party and, together with Plea, was responsible for revitalizing Borussia’s extremely static game. Stöger constantly demanded the balls, sometimes in unrealistic moments. But the 31-year-old wanted to create something and his unpredictability was a stress factor for the Berliners. Stöger should have taken advantage of the great opportunity after the pass from the net, but he shot over the goal. After the break with less clear actions. After a swoop he was rightly shown yellow and five minutes later he was replaced by Hack. Note 3.5.

Alassane plea: Was the best field player that day, even if he couldn’t assert himself at first. But after a quarter of an hour, the Frenchman became a playmaker and designer of all promising attacks. Plea was everywhere and also picked up the balls at the back. Strong, the way he picked up the pace a few times with expansive steps from deep. The precise one-two with the net in front of Stöger’s chance was great. Union switched at half-time and Plea could hardly develop. The 31-year-old played a part in the very few successful Gladbach actions in the period – including the winning goal. There he got the throw-in by following up, which he took himself and passed on to the crosser Hack. Plea received a yellow card when he hit the grass twice in anger after a whistle was blown against him. Note 3.0.

Tim Kleindienst: As usual, he was very keen to run and he also helped diligently on the defensive end. However, the 29-year-old was quickly completely lost in and around the opponent’s penalty area. He wasn’t able to assert himself; a few times he got in his own way with technically inaccurate ball handling. Kleindienst didn’t have a dangerous finish on goal, although in his defense it has to be said that his colleagues didn’t understand how to use Kleindienst, especially in the second half. There is nothing wrong with the commitment – with his header extension towards Plea he was involved in the attack before the winning goal and in the hack-cross band he had two opponents, so that Čvančara ‘only’ had to prevail against one Berliner. Note 4.5.

Robin Hack (72nd minute for Stöger): Brought some dynamism into the game with a few forward-looking and determined actions. With his cross he received the assist for the winning goal. Without notice.

Rocco Reitz (76th minute for Sander): Was on the right as a ball distributor and showed a few approaches without giving much impetus. Without notice.

Tomáš Čvančara (76th minute for Ngoumou): Wanted to push things a bit more with speed and individual actions on the right. Rewarded himself with the winning goal when he initially slipped away for a moment, but then scored with a strong header in typical center forward style. Without notice.

Marvin Friedrich (90th + 7 for Plea): Came against his former club as additional protection, but no longer touched the ball. Without notice.

by editorial team TORfabrik.de | Photo: Norbert Jansen – foal photo