Borussia Mönchengladbach is only three points away from a relegation zone before the start of the second half of the season at Bayern. Two top performers have already announced their departure, Gladbach is threatened with upheaval. Is the axis breaking away in recent years?
The undisputed highlight of Gladbach’s first half of the season was the sensational 5-0 victory over FC Bayern Munich.
This October 27, 2021 was a cup evening for the history books. An evening when everything just went together. But around two months later, it almost seems as if this highlight of the season did not happen by chance in another competition. Almost like it never happened.
While Bayern learned their lessons from the historic setback – they won ten of the following eleven games – the Gladbachers apparently did not gain any self-confidence from this game.
Gladbach: Adi Hütter complains about “lack of intensity”
The foals got just one point from the five league games before the winter break and conceded 18 (!) Goals. The crash to 14th place was the result, only three points before the direct relegation place 17 and Arminia Bielefeld.
An inexplicable appearance like the 6-0 home debacle against SC Freiburg on matchday 14 as a negative climax showed all the deficits. Not the only time that the foals did not resist an impending defeat enough. Gladbach only scored one point after backlogs this season, compared to 17 in the previous season.
Coach Adi Hütter recently complained in the magazine “Bild” that the attitude or the will is often wrong. Especially with a view to the mileage: “That has a lot to do with a lack of intensity, we have to improve.” He is right, because his foals only come in 16th in the sprints and intensive runs categories.
Defensive blackouts, offensive dry spell
In addition to the defensive blackouts in recent weeks, what has been causing Hütter to worry for a long time is the offensive department. From 264 shots – the second most in the league behind Bayern (338) – only 22 goals resulted. Only 31 percent of the 42 big chances (5th place in the league) were used – only Wolfsburg was even weaker here (29 percent).
According to the expected goals model, Gladbach should have scored around 31 goals, which is nine hits below the expected value. A preseason strength has turned into a weakness. Because in 2020/21 Borussia exceeded the expected goals value by nine goals …
The foals are missing a real goalscorer this season. Midfield all-rounder Jonas Hofmann is by far the top scorer in the squad with seven goals. Breel Embolo, for example, who excelled in the cup game against Bayern and contributed two goals and two assists, comes in twelve games in the league to the same yield. Marcus Thuram has zero goals after a torn knee ligament.
Do Ginter and Zakaria change in winter?
To come back to the legendary 5-0 win against Bayern for the last time: Probably no player from Gladbach thought of saying goodbye to Borussia Park that evening.
Only about two months later, however, the farewell wishes pile up on Max Eberl’s desk. That of the long-time head of defense Matthias Ginter is already certified, the national player will look for a new challenge. The situation of Denis Zakaria, who is hottest at Juventus Turin and Borussia Dortmund, is similar. Both will be gone by next summer at the latest. A winter change in order to generate a transfer fee is by no means excluded.
Recently, the disappointing Hannes Wolf – firmly committed for almost ten million euros in the summer – as well as Marcus Thuram and Breel Embolo were also associated with a change.
The fact that Gladbach breaks away from the defensive axis does not seem to be ruled out. The corona situation in particular prompted Eberl to act: “If there is an outstanding offer for any player, we have to sit down and decide,” the sports director recently made clear.
Generally speaking, the tone in Gladbach has become rougher. Eberl criticized the “delaying tactics” of his players willing to change and at the same time demanded an increase in performance, especially of his leading players. In relation to the media, however, Eberl tried to calm the tense situation. “We don’t fall into shock,” assured the 48-year-old.
With the guest appearance in Munich, a real mammoth task awaits the Gladbachers. Or is the front runner exactly the opponent that Hütters foals need now? In addition to the cup highlight, there was a 1: 1 in the first half of the season and a 2: 0 victory in the Allianz Arena as part of the Audi Cup in the preparation for the season. There was seldom a lack of intensity recently, at least against the record champions.
Lars Wiedemann
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