Suddenly first: Borussia Mönchengladbach has refined the strong start to the season under new coach Daniel Farke and temporarily taken the lead in the Bundesliga. The Fohlenelf defeated the still winless Hertha from Berlin 1-0 (1-0) and have seven points after three matchdays – there have never been more since the introduction of the three-point rule.
Alassane Pléa scored a hand penalty (34th) for Borussia, who are unbeaten in all twelve games under Farke, including preparation.
National player Jonas Hofmann failed in another hand penalty to Berlin goalkeeper Oliver Christensen (70th). Filip Uremovic had previously seen yellow-red because of his handball. “We’ll take the lead in the table,” said Hofmann on “DAZN”.
Hertha BSC is waiting for the first competitive win under Black
Despite a good performance, Hertha is still waiting for the first win under new coach Sandro Schwarz after the fourth competitive game and is already reminiscent of the previous season, when there were even zero points on the credit side after three games. “I don’t necessarily feel like a loser. We played well and are one step further than last week,” said defensive player Marc Oliver Kempf.
The 48,411 spectators in Borussia-Park were treated to the best of entertainment right from the start: Gladbach took charge and pushed forward with great force, but met a counterattacking Hertha with the always dangerous striker Dodi Lukebakio. An early goal only failed to materialize because a slightly deflected shot by Pléa hit the post (7′).
The motto also applied afterwards: Gladbach presses, Hertha lurks. The Farke-Elf was closer to a goal. When Marcus Thuram poked the ball towards the goal in the crowd, the words “Tooor” even appeared on the scoreboard – but Hertha keeper Christensen stood in the way (17th). The same was true for Yann Sommer on the other side when Chidera Ejuke shot from distance (21′).
Pléa converts safely, Hofmann forgives
When the game flattened out a bit, Gladbach still took the lead: Because Maximilian Mittelstädt clearly blocked a cross with his hand, referee Matthias Jöllenbeck awarded a penalty. Pléa confidently converts to the bottom left corner for his first goal of the season.
The lead gave Borussia little security, but the guests came into play better and better after the break and initially determined what happened. However, Sommer and the strong newcomer Ko Itakura prevented the equalizer. Gladbach slowly emerged from the liberation. A goal by Hofmann (63rd) was not recognized due to an offside position, and a little later the international missed the point.
There was good news before kick-off: Marco Richter was back on the bench for the first time five weeks after his testicular tumor operation at Hertha. A malignant tumor in the testicles of the 24-year-old was discovered in July and immediately surgically removed.