Actually, TSG Hoffenheim was the better team against Borussia Mönchengladbach, but in the end efficient “foals” took home the points.
In the 2-1 away win in front of 28,923 spectators in the Sinsheimer Arena, Philipp Sander (23rd) and Alassane Plea (61st) scored the goals for Borussia, while Andrej Kramarić (59th) was only able to equalize for Hoffenheim. Gladbach moved up to seventh place in the table with 24 points, at least temporarily, while Hoffenheim fell to 15th place with still 14 points. Borussia managed to win two games in a row in the Bundesliga for the first time since March 2022. It took 25 attempts to end this horror series.
Seoane has a lucky hand with Sander
Gladbach coach Gerardo Seoane had a lucky hand when it came to the lineup. He ordered Philipp Sander into the starting line-up and Rocco Reitz onto the bench. The former Kiel player thanked the team for their trust with a 1-0 win after 23 minutes. After a corner, Hoffenheim were unable to clear the ball far enough and Sander hit the goal from 13 meters.
Hoffenheim the better team
Otherwise there were chances on both sides in the first round. On the Gladbach side, the agile Robin Hack failed twice against goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. Adam Hlozek and Andrej Kramaric missed for the Hoffenheim team, trained by coach Christian Ilzer, and Tom Bischof failed twice with a powerful shot past goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas. In the 43rd minute, after a counterattack, Mönchengladbach initially celebrated the supposed 0-2 by Tim Kleindienst, but this was rightly disallowed due to an offside position. Overall, Hoffenheim had more of the game in the first half because Gladbach behaved too passively after taking the lead.
Compensation occurs logically
In the second half, too, the ball ran primarily through the Hoffenheim ranks. The equalizer came logically, even if it was rather unfortunate from Gladbach’s point of view. Joe Scally lifted his leg too high in a duel with Alexander Prass in the penalty area, referee Bastian Dankert awarded a penalty, which Kramaric converted.
Gladbach counters Hoffenheim ice cold
The equalizer, fully deserved at this point, was a wake-up call for Borussia. Hack won the ball in midfield and then intuitively hit it wide to Plea on the right wing. The Frenchman first caught Prass and then Kevin Akpoguma in the penalty area and put the ball into the left corner from twelve meters. From Gladbach’s point of view, that was the perfect answer to the equalizer.
Hlozek misses a great opportunity
Hoffenheim continued to apply pressure, were strong and courageous – but they lacked penetration up front. After around 70 minutes, Valentin Gendrey put the ball past the goal. A little later – Gladbach was once again in passive mode – the score should have been 2-2. Gendrey passed from the right to the completely unmarked Hlozek, but he couldn’t put the ball into the goal from close range.
From Gladbach’s perspective, the rest of the game was a defensive battle. Seoane brought in additional defenders with Reitz, Stefan Lainer and Marvin Friedrich and switched to a five-man chain. The fact that Gladbach couldn’t be defeated in the game that afternoon was mainly due to Gladbach’s central defense duo Ko Itakura and Nico Elvedi. And to goalkeeper Nicolas, who held on to the win against Kramaric shortly before the end.
Gladbach welcomes Bayern in the top game
TSG Hoffenheim welcomes VfL Wolfsburg on the next matchday on Saturday (January 11, 2024, 3:30 p.m.). Borussia Mönchengladbach then has to play in the top game against Bayern Munich (6:30 p.m.).