Borussia Mönchengladbach may have halted their losing streak for the time being, including a flood of goals conceded, but in Adi Hütter’s opinion they must first “bake smaller bread” – especially when it comes to their play.
After four defeats in a row (with 17 goals conceded), Borussia Mönchengladbach looked as if they could even end 2021 with a win against Hoffenheim. But in the first minute of injury time, Kevin Akpoguma equalised Breel Embolo’s Gladbach lead. Due to numerous TSG chances, the 1-1 was only lucky in terms of timing. For Christoph Kramer, who had returned to the starting line-up for the first time since Matchday 2, the draw was even “flattering” for his team.
Nevertheless, the result pleased the defensive midfielder more than the performance. On the “Sky” microphone, Kramer immediately appealed for understanding: “If we hadn’t received so much justified criticism in the last few weeks, I would be standing here saying: ‘What a shit game we played here. We’ve never played that badly before.'” However, he said, it was not about the gameplay, but rather about saying goodbye to the short winter break with a positive experience. “By 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve at the latest, nobody will know how we got this one,” Kramer said.
“A step forward “
While his coach Adi Hütter would unsurprisingly have “liked to win” against his favourite opponent (there had previously been six wins in six games against Hoffenheim for the coach), Kramer agreed: “On balance, he’s not wrong. But, when you’ve lost four in a row, it’s not that easy.” Hütter did not reproach his team for their commitment against a “strong” TSG. With the fighting “very good performance” it was “a step forward”. Overall, the 51-year-old was happy with the point: “It’s important, because it’s good for us to go into the winter break with a small sense of achievement.”
In terms of play, however, they were “a bit behind today”, but for Hütter this was almost irrelevant in the current situation: “Now we have to bake smaller bread and come back to our qualities through the fight.” Even if the series of defeats and the flood of goals conceded seems to have come to an end for the time being, the gap to the relegation places is still small – and Borussia still have to face autumn champions Bayern Munich in the second half of the season on 7 January (8.30pm). Hütter is “100 per cent convinced that the team has nothing to do with the relegation battle”, but nevertheless they have to accept the situation, because it is not without its dangers.