23rd matchday
Dortmund (dpa) – With the final whistle, all the tension was released. The 6-0 (2-0) thrashing of Borussia Mönchengladbach and the thunderous applause of the fans in the south stand compensated the Dortmund pros for the scolding of the past few days.
Just three days after the disastrous 4-2 loss to Glasgow Rangers in the Europa League, there was reason to be happy again: with the resounding victory, coach Marco Rose’s team maintained their reputation as a moody diva and gathered courage for the second leg in Scotland on Thursday. BVB consolidated second place in the table and remain the only pursuer of leaders FC Bayern with a gap of six points.
In front of 10,000 spectators in Signal Iduna Park, the goalscorers Marco Reus (26th/81st minute), Donyell Malen (32nd), Marius Wolf (70th), Youssoufa Moukoko (74th) and Emre Can made a penalty kick (90th + 1) for the deserved victory in the 100th Bundesliga duel between the two traditional teams. For the guests from Mönchengladbach, however, the situation remains critical. After the eleventh defeat of the season, relegation rank 16 is still only four points away.
Captain Reus satisfied
“We had to show a reaction again. Big compliments to the team,” praised Captain Reus in the DAZN interview. “We have to try to be the same in every game. We know we have a final on Thursday. I think we regained our confidence today,” said the two-goal scorer with relief. “I’m happy about it – but it goes on!”
As a consequence of the unsightly performance against Glasgow, BVB coach Marco Rose changed his starting XI to three positions. The recently weak Axel Witsel and Julian Brandt suffered. This remodeling gave the team more momentum. The lead was already close after six minutes when Gladbach keeper Yann Sommer reacted splendidly to his long-range shot from Giovanni Reyna, who had joined the team.
The Gladbach team, who were unchanged compared to the 3-2 win over Augsburg, limited themselves to their defensive work in the first few minutes. But as so often this season, a major mistake by Dortmund in the build-up game gave the opponent a great chance. Defense chief Mats Hummels made a risky pass at the level of the penalty area, which almost paved the way for Emmanuel Koné to make it 1-0. Only the reflex of BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel prevented the goal.
Kobel strong support
The game, which had been rather poor up to that point, picked up speed. The leadership for BVB also contributed to this. After Sommer had parried a shot from Malen, Captain Reus hit the net from close range. The fact that Gladbach missed the huge chance to equalize just three minutes later through Jonas Hofmann should quickly take revenge. After a nice pass from Reus, Malen appeared free in front of Sommer and gave the keeper no chance with a low shot.
However, this 2-0 lead gave Dortmunders no security. In the 37th minute, Kobel showed his class again with a shot by Florian Neuhaus and saved his team from a goal before the break. The Rose team had less luck with the staff than with the Gladbach attacks. Both Reyna and defender Dan-Axel Zagadou left the pitch injured in the first half.
After the restart, the guests continued to strive for the goal. It would have been well deserved: The former Dortmunder Hofmann hit the crossbar with a brilliant shot in the 62nd minute. Dortmund, on the other hand, showed more efficiency: After a pass from Reus, who was in much better shape, Wolf made the decision with a shot under the bar. Captain Reus set the final point with his second goal.