A used evening for Mönchengladbach: Borussia were denied a penalty when they lost the cup in Darmstadt and lost their first-choice goalkeeper.
Mönchengladbach lost 1: 2 (0: 1) to second division team Darmstadt 98 on Tuesday (October 18th, 2022) and were unlucky on several occasions. Goalkeeper Yann Sommer is threatened with a longer break and Marcus Thuram should have been awarded a penalty. Second division leaders Darmstadt, on the other hand, celebrated an atmospheric cup evening with goals from Philipp Tietz (23rd) and Aaron Seydel (79th). Luca Netz had meanwhile equalized for Gladbach (48th).
“I just love such cup evenings, it’s pure football, it gives me goosebumps,” said Darmstadt coach Thorsten Lieberknecht in the sports show. “We had the better chances to score, we were very brave, we pressed hard. We wanted to offer something to the crowd here tonight.”
The Darmstadt team continued their series of successes. They celebrated their fifth win in a row and are unbeaten in 13 games. Borussia, on the other hand, continues to weaken in foreign stadiums, in the Bundesliga they have not won any of their five away games.
Break for Stindl and Bensebaini
Mönchengladbach coach Daniel Farke ordered two established players to take a break. Rany Bensebaini and captain Lars Stindl took their places on the bench, with 19-year-old Netz starting at left-back and Sommer signing Nathan Ngoumou in right midfield. The French U21 national player Ngoumou gave his starting eleven debut after five joker appearances, showed a committed performance with many tempo runs, but was unlucky.
The game started with a personal setback: Mönchengladbach’s goalkeeper Sommer twisted his left foot without the opponent’s influence. He played on at first, deflecting another shot from Braydon Manu to the post (9′). Three minutes later, however, he gave the signal for a substitution. The 34-year-old Tobias Sippel moved into the goal for the summer.
Dietz uses Mehlem’s template
Darmstadt got off to a brave start and earned the lead. Mönchengladbach’s central defender Marvin Friedrich straddled into space, Marvin Mehlem played across and striker Tietz did the rest. The center forward is also on target in the league with six goals.
Mönchengladbach had a hard time losing a lot of balls in midfield. Darmstadt remained the more dangerous team and hit wood for the second time: a long-range shot by Matthias Bader hit the crossbar (33′).
Triple chance for Mönchengladbach
In the final phase of the first half, however, the defensive forces had to intervene in dire need. First defender Thomas Isherwood cleared against Thuram in front of the goal line, then Schuhen saved against Ngoumou and Plea.
Netz meets full shortly after the break
Farke brought on Stindl for Jonas Hofmann in the second half. The national player injured his left shoulder in the 26th minute, but continued to play. Borussia came out of the dressing room with a flourish: Plea released the net and the young left-back hit the right corner with a solid shot from inside left. It was his first goal in the Borussia jersey.
Darmstadt responded with a post header from the busy Manu – the third aluminum hit. Shortly thereafter, Jannik Müller was lucky that referee Robert Schröder overlooked the fact that he clearly caught Thuram on his foot in his own 16. A penalty for Mönchengladbach would have been the right decision, Lieberknecht conceded: “We were lucky there.” There is no video assistant in the second round of the cup.
Farke reported that the referee went to Mönchengladbach’s dressing room after the game to apologize for his mistake. “I don’t think it was the only scene that could be discussed,” said farke.
Remarkable performance by Seydel
The game remained lively and varied with offensive actions on both sides. In the 76th minute, Bader had the Darmstadt lead on his feet, but shot well over the goal from four meters while falling.
Three minutes later, Borussia goalkeeper Sippel missed another pass. Mehlem intercepted the ball technically and played it steeply to Seydel. The substitute attacker shook off Elvedi and hit the right corner from a tight angle – a strong striker’s goal. Five minutes later, Seydel had to retire due to a muscle injury. “I do not know if I should laugh or cry”, said Seydel of the sports show. Shortly thereafter, it pulled in my thigh. “I think it will only last a few days though. It’s nothing wild.”
Darmstadt were lucky that goalkeeper Schuhen saved a big chance from Patrick Herrmann (90′), but in the end the victory was well deserved. Although Mönchengladbach put up a fight, there was no discernible class difference.
Gladbach has a home game against Frankfurt
Mönchengladbach has a home game against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday. SV Darmstadt 98 is already in action against Holstein Kiel in the 2nd Bundesliga on Friday evening.