Borussia Mönchengladbach has once again exacerbated the crisis at VfL Wolfsburg and coach Niko Kovac with a hard-fought entry into the cup quarter-finals. While the Foals became the first first division team to reach the round of the last eight thanks to a 1-0 (0-0, 0-0) win after extra time, the alarm bells were ringing for the Wolves. The seventh away defeat in a row also leaves Kovac in need of explanation.
Joker Manu Kone (120th) ensured the fifth home win in a row for Borussia, who were badly shaken in terms of personnel, in an extremely weak game. Three days after the bitter 3-1 defeat at VfL Bochum in the final phase of regular time, the Wolves missed two top-class players – and were then bitterly punished.
“To be honest, I don’t feel any pressure,” Kovac said before kick-off. A self-confidence that his team also showed at the beginning. Unlike the 4-0 defeat in the league just 25 days earlier, Wolfsburg performed with passion. However, both teams lacked ideas in terms of play and the 39,827 spectators in the cold, wet Borussia Park hardly got their money’s worth.
The new edition of the 1995 final lacked creativity and precision. Gladbach slowly got better into the game, with Alassane Plea in particular impressing as a diligent ball distributor. But it wasn’t really dangerous on either side; instead, bad passes and interruptions dominated the action.
The only positive thing was that the defense was not always secure on both sides. This applied to Borussia’s back three, in which the 18-year-old Fabio Chiarodia made his starting eleven debut, as well as to the Wolves defense around the attentive Moritz Jenz.
The second half at least brought some excitement: Chiarodia pushed the ball over the goal from a meter, but Plea was previously offside (49th). The Wolves, who had eliminated defending champions RB Leipzig in the second round, now retreated far back and were waiting for a counterattack.
The error rate remained high on both sides, but Wolfsburg came up again. Tiago Tomas (86th) was just offside when he scored. Gladbach’s goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas made a strong save against Jonas Wind (90th), who shot just wide of the goal in stoppage time.
In extra time, the Wolves were once again in control. Joakim Maehle (108th) missed the next big chance.