Borussia Mönchengladbach has carelessly given away the third win in a row in the Bundesliga. In the 1:1 (1:0) against the long passive FSV Mainz, coach Adi Hütter’s team failed to make everything clear in the first half on Sunday. Breel Embolo’s goal (33rd minute) wasn’t enough for Borussia, who were visibly superior in the first round. After the change, the now much more active Mainz team equalized in front of 44,156 spectators through Karim Onisiwo (73rd) and even had the chance to score three points in the closing stages. But they didn’t use them.
“We let ourselves be played too easily, the rooms kept getting bigger. Luckily we didn’t lose the game today,” said Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer at DAZN and added: “We completely lose our compactness in the second half. We have to work on it.” Mainz sporting director Martin Schmitt summed it up: “A draw is fair, even if we had better chances at the back. In the second half you saw that we can do it.”
Although the Gladbachers have been undefeated for a month, they missed the connection to the top half of the table. With 34 points, Borussia is twelfth after 28 match days, five points behind in ninth place. Mainz has 38 points in tenth place, but they still have a catch-up game to play at FC Augsburg on Wednesday.
After two victories, Borussia started with confidence under Hütter, who was sitting on the sidelines for the first time since his corona infection, and clearly dominated the game. Mainz was pushed deep into their own half. With captain Lars Stindl, who was back in the starting XI for the first time since mid-January after his knee injury, even more playful finesse came into the team. The fitness of the 33-year-old was only enough until shortly after the break.
At first, as is so often the case against extremely defensive opponents, Borussia found it difficult to create compelling scoring chances. The best chance after half an hour led to a well-deserved lead for Mainz, who were far too passive in this situation. Embolo completed his 100th competitive game for Borussia after a successful combination with Florian Neuhaus.
Svensson brought in Jonathan Burkardt for Marcus Ingvartsen at the break. Burkardt had previously been ailing, but still made it into the squad. Only two minutes on the field, Burkardt almost got the unexpected equalizer with Mainz’s first chance in the game. After a post rebound after a shot by Leandro Barreiro, Burkardt came to the end, but Gladbach keeper Yann Sommer parried brilliantly with a reflex.
Mainz was no longer as extremely low as in the first round and attacked earlier. At the same time, Gladbach became more passive and were no longer as sure of a pass as before. Almost inevitably, Onisiwo equalized, giving summer no chance. Only now was it an open game in which both teams were looking for a decision. The Gladbachers suddenly felt an insecurity again, which they had not shown under Hütter’s assistant Christian Peintinger when the head coach was absent due to the corona.