Gladbach remain unbeaten under coach Adi Hütter at Borussia-Park. Against bottom side Fürth, a good first half was enough for the Foals to win.
Borussia coach Adi Hütter made three changes after the 1:1 draw in Mainz and, in addition to captain Stindl, opted for Hermann and Neuhaus, who had recently complained about a lack of backing from the club but had also spoken to his coach afterwards. Netz took a seat on the bench instead. The Swiss players Elvedi and Embolo were absent due to injury.
Fürth’s coach Stefan Leitl made only one change compared to the late 1:2 defeat against Frankfurt: Itten had to go on the bench – Nielsen came forward for him. The Norwegian had been suffering from ankle pain for a long time and had therefore not played for the cloverleaf since Matchday 7.
The first shot on goal of the match – Funk misses, Neuhaus scores
Gladbach started with commitment and took control of the game. The team from the Niederrhein combined again and again on the right – that’s how they scored the early goal: Via Koné and Stindl the ball landed with Hofmann, who stayed cool in the penalty area and scored with the first shot of the match (9th). For Fürth, this meant having to chase a deficit for the twelfth time in the twelfth game. In the following Gladbach remained the better team, Funk prevented Hermann from scoring 0:2 (15th). But it was the keeper himself who started it: a catastrophic mispass by Funk landed with Neuhaus, who took a direct shot from distance and finished into the empty goal (28th).
In addition to the goalkeeper, the Fürth defence also showed a lack of concentration. Again and again, it was simply too easy for Gladbach’s offensive team of Hofmann, Stindl and Plea to move forward – as with Stindl’s goal against the post in minute 36. The statistics showed an even game, but it was not. Shortly before the break, this was also evident after a great combination by Gladbach, which Plea completed to make it 3:0 (43.). Funk prevented a goal from the Frenchman (41.), while the Fürth team around Nielsen (40.) carelessly missed their few chances.
Hofmann scores the brace, Stindl collects the third assist
The cloverleaf started the second half defensively, coach Stefan Leitl changed twice at the break and strengthened the defence with Bauer. But the Central Franconians also had something going forward – but after an alleged foul by Zakaria on Leweling, referee Benjamin Brand decided to play on. That remained the case even after viewing the video footage (49th). A little later, however, the ball was back in the Fürth net: after a somewhat controversial ball recovery in midfield, Stindl passed directly to Hofmann, who beat Funk for the second time this afternoon (57). For Stindl, it was also his third assist of the game.
For the rest of the match, VfL dominated, but the home side clearly took the tempo out of the game. Only once did Ginter test Funk, who reacted well (65.). Otherwise, the match trundled towards the final whistle.
Gladbach remains unbeaten under coach Adi Hütter at the Borussia-Bark (4/2/0), while Fürth loses their seventh away match. On top of that, the cloverleaf set a negative record in the Bundesliga: Before that, only three clubs had lost a whopping ten games in a row.
For Borussia, it continues next Saturday with the explosive derby in Cologne. At the same time, the cloverleaf hosts TSG 1899 Hoffenheim with ex-Fürth Raum.
