Three takeaways from Borussia Dortmund’s defeat to Mönchengladbach

Poor In-Game Management

As previously mentioned, Gladbach displayed more of the traits required to keep with the chasing pack as we enter the second half of the season. Twice this week, we have seen Borussia Dortmund go behind within the first 20 minutes. Of course, the games are 90 minutes long, and it’s always tough away from home, but Dortmund need to cut these poor starts out as much as possible going forward.

The warning signs were there on Friday. Florian Neuhaus scored after just 42 seconds. Julian Brandt played a poor square ball on the edge of the box to Jude Bellingham. Jonas Hofmann appeared to shove Bellingham to the floor in winning the ball back, and after reviewing the footage on the monitor, the goal was ruled out. Gladbach had set their stall out to press high and fast.

Despite that wake-up call, Nico Elvedi’s opener came soon after. Hofmann’s free-kick was expertly whipped into the gap between Bürki and the Dortmund backline and the defender was sharper than the onrushing defence. Dortmund pulled off an impressive comeback in the first half, before more defensive lapses cost them, as Gladbach turned the game around.

Borussia Dortmund also made a poor start to the second half, conceding a poor and very avoidable goal to Ramy Bensebaini. And they just never recovered from that, as Gladbach took control after taking the lead.

Edin Terzic also deserves a bit of the blame for the defeat. While him being outcoached by the more experienced Marco Rose is understandable, the fact that Dortmund keep making the same mistakes in every game is not. And once again, Terzic left it too late to make his changes. Dortmund conceded their third goal in the 48th minute, but Gio Reyna wasn’t brought on until the 71st minute. Reyna looked promising during his 19 minute cameo, and had he been given more time on the pitch, maybe he could have been able to make a difference.