Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Borussia Monchengladbach: 3 Reasons why the hosts won

Borussia Dortmund scraped past Borussia Monchengladbach 1-0 in an entertaining encounter at the Signal Iduna Park. The victory catapulted the hosts to 4th spot while the defeat rid the visitors of an opportunity to go clear at the perch of the table.

The game started off frenetically with both sides hassling and harrying the other, hoping for an early mistake. However, the game settled down as the clock ticked by, meaning that chances were at a premium. Yet, when those opened up, Monchengladbach were guilty of spurning them.

After the restart, Dortmund looked much more adventurous and their perseverance paid off when Marco Reus escaped the attention of the defenders before arrowing the ball into the back of the net from a relatively tight angle.

The visitors tried to get back into the game courtesy a flurry of attacks deep into the game but it went in vain as the home side managed to see the game off.

Here is a look at the three reasons that ensured a Dortmund victory.

#3 Roman Burki’s splendid first half-display

For Borussia Monchengladbach’s visit, Dortmund fielded a make-shift defence that comprised Julian Weigl and Mats Hummels as the centre-back pairing and Manuel Akanji at right-back. Subsequently, plenty expected the away side to cause more than a furrowed brow or two.

The visitors started the game extremely strongly and pressed the hosts high up the pitch, meaning that Lucien Favre’s men were denied the freedom, time and space to build up play methodically.

In the process, the away side generated a head of steam, thereby creating an early chance for Breel Embolo. The striker was played through courtesy a sublime through-ball but his attempted shimmy past Roman Burki was thwarted expertly by the latter.

A few minutes later, the Swiss goalkeeper was on hand to parry Stefan Lainer’s snap shot at the back post. However, despite not scoring, the visitors kept putting the hosts under the cosh

The incessant pressure carved out another opening when an errant back-pass fell into Embolo’s path. The Swiss forward tried to manoeuvre the ball past Burki but the keeper flung out his right leg to stop his countryman in his tracks.

Thus, through the course of the opening 45 minutes, Burki had proven his worth and laid the ideal platform for Dortmund to post a vital victory.

And, even though the home side dominated after the restart, things could’ve been very different had Monchengladbach managed to ripple the net in the first half.

#2 Monchengladbach’s lack of conviction in the final third

Borussia Monchengladbach came into the game at the Signal Iduna Park having scored 15 goals in 7 games, thereby averaging just a touch more than two goals per game. Hence, many envisioned that they would put Dortmund’s wobbly rear-guard under strife.

And, while that did transpire to an extent, they failed to find the final spark in the offensive third, meaning that they wasted several opportunities.

The visitors enjoyed the better of the early exchanges and mounted quite a few attacks in the opening minutes. However, they failed to showcase composure at those crucial junctures, in the process, disabling themselves from bulging the net.

In the first half, the away side had three clear-cut chances, two of which fell to Breel Embolo. Yet, the Swiss striker portrayed dubious decision making to fluff his lines on both occasions.

As the game progressed, the encounter became stretched and Monchengladbach were accorded space on the flanks. Unfortunately, though, they were profligate when presented with such openings.

Moreover, Lainer, who was a constant outlet down the right wing, whipped in numerous delicious crosses. Yet, none of the away side’s forwards were brave enough to gamble, allowing Dortmund to shut the door.

The defeat on Saturday enabled Wolfsburg to draw level with Monchengladbach and the latter only have themselves to blame, after a performance in which the only constant was a lack of conviction in the attacking third.

#1 Borussia Dortmund dig deep into their attacking reserves

Lucien Favre sprung a surprise with his starting line-up when he named three holding midfielders, namely Axel Witsel, Thomas Delaney and Weigl in his eleven. However, as the match wore on, it became clear that the German was brought in to shore up the centre of defence with Achraf Hakimi being given the nod in an unfamiliar attacking midfield role.

Unsurprisingly, Dortmund failed to flow as much as the home crowd would’ve expected with their tempo being alarmingly slow in the nascent stages of the first half. Yet, towards the latter part of the period, they started clicking into gear and got past Yann Sommer, only for VAR to rule it out.

Thereafter, they kept pushing and probing and were eventually rewarded in the 58th minute when Thorgan Hazard slipped in a sumptuous through-ball for Reus. The Dortmund skipper made no mistake and slotted the ball clinically past the keeper.

For long stretches of the game, the hosts’ attack looked slightly bereft of ideas and lacked the imagination that has become synonymous with them recently.

Yet, when push came to shove at the Signal Iduna Park, they dug deep into their attacking reserves and unfurled a moment of brilliance; one that could play a significant role in the Bundesliga title picture.