The gala against FC Bayern was historic for Borussia Mönchengladbach – for coach Adi Hütter also from a very personal point of view.
“It was an almost perfect game today, a historic victory,” Hütter opened his statement at the post-match press conference after the 5-0 win over the record champions. Historic from Gladbach’s point of view, “because we have never won against Bayern in the cup before”, as Hütter himself had apparently overheard in the run-up.
But also historic for the Austrian himself, because: “What pleases me much more is the performance we showed. We were dominant from the first minute, and the first 20 minutes … I can’t remember ever seeing anything so good from a team of mine,” said Hütter, who had won 5-1 against FCB in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt almost exactly two years ago. “In parts” his team had “beaten Bayern with their own weapons”.
Hutter’s plan with Embolo works out perfectly
Hutter’s own match plan had also apparently worked to perfection. “We analysed Bayern well,” Hütter said on ARD. “They stand very high and brave. We wanted to get Breel Embolo behind them, we managed that.” The Swiss developed into the outstanding man in the match, was involved in all five goals. “He did exactly what we discussed in the analysis. Bayern stands very high, sometimes in one-on-one. He can do a lot there with his force. “
Eberl singles out two players
Sports director Max Eberl also singled out the striker from Gladbach’s strong collective on Sky. Although it was “difficult with such a performance”, “Breel Embolo has to be mentioned as a great player today.” But Eberl had seen another player particularly strong – and he was not even close to the scorers’ list. “Nico Elvedi made an outstanding play against Lewandowski,” praised Eberl. The Pole was more or less muted for the entire 90 minutes, not having a single compelling goal-scoring chance.
“I think we really impressed them,” Eberl said, referring to the opponent. “They were clueless – for whatever reason.” And the Borussia architect also had a small reference to the big picture. The fact that FC Bayern was once again eliminated in the 2nd round was “nice for the Bundesliga and for the cup,” said the sports director. “They can’t get the double for a start.” Instead, one of Eberl’s big goals could come true: “My big goal is to reach a final like that.” One of the biggest obstacles has already been cleared out of the way.