Strong start and then a lot of idling: Borussia Mönchengladbach recovered after a short dry spell and celebrated a 3-1 (2-1) home win against VfB Stuttgart.
The Gladbachers ended a series of three competitive defeats in the Friday evening game (November 4th, 2022). For VfBer, the following still applies: There is not much to be gained on foreign pitches. Stuttgart is still waiting for an away win in the 2022 calendar year.
National player Jonas Hofmann (4th) and goalgetter Marcus Thuram (20th) gave the Foals an early lead. Tiago Tomás scored the goal before the break (35′). “Joker” Patrick Hermann set the final point in stoppage time.
Dream start for Hofmann
Borussia apparently had big plans after things hadn’t gone well in the past few weeks. Particularly in a good mood: Alassane Pléa. The Frenchman had a lot of space on his left side and he used it. Already in the fourth minute he curled a cross ball perfectly into the middle, where Hofmann shot the ball in wonderfully at full speed. It was a dream start to this game for Hofmann after his three-week injury break.
Borussia continued to play forward with a lot of momentum, had good chances through Ramy Bensabaini and Pléa, but were also lucky that referee Matthias Jöllenbeck let Bensebaini out after 20 minutes. The Algerian had held off VfB central defender Waldemar Anton with a violent elbow blow.
Jonas Hofmann gave Gladbach an early lead against Stuttgart.
Pléa, the initial spark
In the next good action, Pléa was the initial spark again. He played a wonderful outside instep pass to Marcus Thuram, who jumped at the chance and beat Florian Müller in the Stuttgart goal with a low shot (26′). It was Thuram’s ninth goal this season.
VfB, where attacking player Silas Katompa stayed on the bench, didn’t let the early deficit deter them. The Swabians also played a lot on the left side. There Borna Sosa initiated the goal. Tiago Tomás took his passport. The Portuguese got rid of his opponent Marvon Friedrich with a clever turn and reduced the lead to 1:2 (35th). The spectators in Borussia Park had already experienced an entertaining evening performance during the break.
Sippel’s knee saves the lead
However, it didn’t go as energetic as in the first round, also because Pléa didn’t get as much of a turn as at the beginning. Both teams saved with risky actions. While VfB continued to pose a threat from the left, especially when Chris Führich came close to the penalty area, the Gladbachers did almost nothing in the game going forward.
A good 20 minutes before the end, Stuttgart coach Michael Wimmer brought in Silas Katompa for the ineffective Luca Pfeiffer to revitalize the offensive. But even the lanky Konogolese couldn’t do much. And yet the Stuttgart team almost scored the lucky punch. However, Gladbach keeper Sippel fended off a ball from Serhou Guirassy with his knee and was then allowed to accept the congratulations of the teammates.
Patrick Herrmann, who came on as a priority in the second minute of injury time to gain time off the clock, was also very happy. But then the veteran used the last action of the game, ran the ball into the Stuttgart goal and shot precisely into the far corner – his first goal of the season and a rare moment of happiness for the Ur-Gladbacher.
Gladbach in Bochum, Stuttgart against Hertha
On the 14th matchday of the Bundesliga, Borussia Mönchengladbach is a guest in Bochum (Tuesday, November 8th, 2022 at 8:30 p.m.). At the same time, VfB Stuttgart receives Hertha from Berlin.