After the final whistle, Adi Hütter trudged across the lawn with slumped shoulders, the coach comforted his players crouching on the ground. The alarm bells at Borussia Mönchengladbach are ringing louder than ever after the bitter 2: 3 (1: 1) defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt – and the “Hütter-out” calls of the Eintracht fans in the direction of their ex-coach hurt even more.
Midfielder Christoph Kramer saw “a step in the right direction” in the first half, but is preparing for an uncomfortable Christmas season including a relegation battle. “We just lost the matter of course. We got ourselves into this situation,” said Kramer of his team, which lost the last four games and had to swallow 17 goals.
Rafael Borre (45th), Jesper Lindström (50th) and Daichi Kamada (55th) hit the foals right in the heart, who tried everything offensively after the yellow-red card against Frankfurt’s Tuta (70th), but remained unsuccessful. “The goal immediately after the break leads to uncertainty in our situation,” said national player Matthias Ginter. Overall, the Gladbachers disappointed after the lead by Florian Neuhaus (6th) and the interim equalization by Ramy Bensebaini (54th, penalty kick).
“We want to show that we haven’t lost anything down there,” Hütter said shortly before kick-off. That succeeded in front of 10,028 spectators, because after a nervous start, the first good attack was right away. Introduced by 18-year-old Luca Netz and Joe Scally, Neuhaus came to a free end in the penalty area, his right-footed shot from 14 meters hit the left corner unbearably.
Adi Hütter under enormous pressure in Mönchengladbach
Hütter, who worked as a coach in Frankfurt for three years and now met his ex-club for the first time, had to put up with whistles and chants (“Hütter out”) from the Eintracht fans at the beginning of the game. On the lawn, meanwhile, the foal-elf continued to set the tone, even if the uncertainty from three previous games with 14 goals conceded could be felt. However, Borussia avoided the risk and was punished by Denis Zakaria shortly before the break after losing the ball unnecessarily.
Lindström served Borre, who was allowed to push in at the five-meter space to make the 1: 1 break. The only consolation for Borussia: In the previous home game against Freiburg it was 6-0. After the break it got turbulent. First Lindström was allowed to push in as free as Borre from close range to 2-1, before Danny da Costa almost brought down Kone in return and Bensebaini converted the due penalty to equalize.
Another minute later, Borussia’s defense fell asleep again, Kamada scored with the left. With the Gladbachers the uncertainty was there again, Frankfurt had chances almost every minute, with the best Lindström hit the outside post (60th). After the yellow-red card against Frankfurt’s Tuta, a heated final phase developed, including Gladbach’s usury of opportunities.