Haaland sets a Seeler record: Borussia Dortmund goes swimming against Gladbach

Friday, January 22nd, 2021

Haaland sets a Seeler record
Borussia Dortmund goes swimming against Gladbach

Next damper for Borussia Dortmund: Of all things, BVB loses against favorite opponent Gladbach in the evening – despite a double from super striker Haaland. Due to the defeat, the black and yellow must now fear for qualification for the Champions League.

Mats Hummels stole disappointed from the pitch, captain Marco Reus made no secret of his frustration. Borussia Dortmund suffered the next serious setback in the wild back round opener against Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the evening, BVB remained away from home with a 2: 4 (2: 2) win for the third time in a row and have to fear more than ever about qualifying for the Champions League.

"It's always the same mistakes that we make. Then it is difficult to win a game. It stinks a lot," said Reus on ZDF. "It's by no means all bad today, but in the end it's about the goals, we scored two and conceded four and therefore deservedly lost," said Hummels at DAZN.

Borussia vom Niederrhein, still undefeated this year, moved past Dortmund to fourth in the Bundesliga table after their first win against Westphalia in almost six years. The team of coach Marco Rose, who is courted by BVB, achieved the third home win of the season against a top league team after their successes against RB Leipzig and FC Bayern.

"The 4: 2 at the end was really good for us"

A double from Dortmund's super striker Erling Haaland (22nd minute / 28th) was too little for BVB, who had a disappointing English week with only one point from the games against Mainz (1: 1) in Leverkusen (1: 2 ) and now graduated in Gladbach. The 20-year-old Norwegian surpassed Uwe Seeler, who once also needed 28 games for his first 26 goals, with his Bundesliga players 26 and 27 in only the 28th Bundesliga game.

However, Nico Elvedi (11th and 32nd), Ramy Bensebaini (49th) and substitute Marcus Thuram (79th) made the Gladbach victory perfect. "The 4: 2 in the end did us really good," said Gladbach's double goal scorer Elvedi. "That was an extremely important game for us," emphasized Florian Neuhaus.

It didn't even take a minute when the tension on the pitch was high. Jonas Hofmann took the ball from Dortmund's Jude Bellingham in front of the BVB penalty area and passed it on to Neuhaus. The national player did not wait long, started to swing and cheered the supposed lead after only 43 seconds. Dortmund keeper Roman Bürki was powerless against the deflected ball. But then: video evidence. Referee Manuel Gräfe decided retrospectively: Foul by Hofmann, no goal for Gladbach. Rose, who had clapped half of the BVB bank before the game, was annoyed on the sidelines.

The Dortmunders did not really hear the extremely early wake-up call. In the seventh minute Bürki saved after a low shot against Hofmann, a little later he could not do anything either. Hofmann was involved again, this time as a preparer. Elvedi headed his free-kick into the lead. The BVB defense around former world champion Mats Hummels was not up to date. After a short wait, the confirmation for the Gladbach 1-0 came from the video cellar.

Strong offensive lines and defensive chains with potential for mistakes

No sooner had the game started than the nightly excursion by Breel Embolo and all speculations about a Rose future among the Dortmunders were forgotten. Now football was played – and how, after conceding the goal, also by the Westphalia. The team of coach Edin Terzic no longer let the Gladbachers do it, interfered earlier and, thanks to Haaland, turned a 0: 1 into a 2: 1.

Rose reacted, switched from three to the more familiar back four. It was not flawless afterwards, nor was it boring. Strong offensive rows met defensive chains with blunder potential. Had fans been in the stadium, they would have got their money's worth. But as it was, the Gladbach players celebrated the second Elvedi goal among themselves – this time Bürki didn't look good. "The half-time whistle, Hallelulja," commented Gladbach's stadium announcer about the spectacle in the first half.

The second went on just as wildly. With his first Bundesliga goal since May 2020, Bensebaini brought Gladbach back into the lead. The hosts could not yet feel safe. BVB pressed. After 70 minutes Terzic took Marco Reus off the field, disappointed the BVB captain threw his shoes away. In addition to Embolo, Rose also brought Thuram, who had to sit out five games after his spit attack. And he of all people sealed the victory with a header goal.