Status: 01/19/2022 8:15 p.m
Hannover 96 gave Borussia Mönchengladbach the next nightmare. As in the cup final in 1992, the second division side retained the upper hand and are now well deserved in the quarter-finals.
Immediately after the draw for the round of 16 in Hannover and Mönchengladbach the old stories came up again. Above all, the then cup hero Jörg Sievers had been an enormously popular guest of conversation in the past few weeks. Now the Hanoverians have new heroes.
Without the last will
Maximilian Beier (4th and 51st minute) and Sebastian Kerk (36th) scored the goals against a staggering player with a legitimate hand penalty based on video evidence in the well-deserved 3-0 (2-0) win early on Wednesday evening (19.01.22). Bundesliga team, who, surprisingly, even lacked the last effort and will in view of this huge opportunity.
It was the cup competition that VfL manager Max Eberl and coach Adi Hütter had promised so much to get a completely messed-up season back on track. In this cup competition, Gladbach had given record champion Bayern Munich a 5-0 lesson – but this gala by Borussia at the end of October seems like it was from a different time given the current condition.
Elvedi’s Fatal Heel Insertion
Hannover, on the other hand, was determined to make this evening a memorable one. After just three and a half minutes, an outrageous attempt at clearance by Nico Elvedi landed at Hendrik Weydandt, who sent Beier perfectly into the depths – with a crack in the left corner, the left winger didn’t give Yann Sommer a chance.
As a result, Gladbach did not get a line in the actions, remained playful almost everything – and could have compensated anyway. But Sievers heir Ron-Robert Zieler defused Florian Neuhaus’s chance with a magnificent foot defense, who appeared in front of him after a headed ball from Marcus Thuram (11th).
Friedrich with a clear hand game
Hannover, on the other hand, repeatedly put needle pricks and posed huge problems for the Gladbach three-man chain, in which Hütter had also brought back Matthias Ginter, who had just been sorted out. Christoph Dabrowski’s greed was rewarded ten minutes before the break, albeit with a delay. After a clear hand ball from new signing Marvin Friedrich, referee Florian Badstübner needed the video evidence before he awarded a penalty – Sebastian Kerk overcame Sommer to make it 2-0 with some effort.
His reaction during the half-time break showed how without a concept Hütter is currently acting. Thuram and Alassane Plea, whom he had given another chance from the start after a long break, were eliminated after just 45 minutes. In addition to Breel Embolo, he brought in a defensive midfielder in Denis Zakaria – no wonder that his team didn’t exactly get a signal to attack.
Beier with the early decision
Only five minutes after the restart, the matter was finally sealed: After a corner of their own, Borussia’s counterattack failed, Linton Maina overran the guest defense and served Beier again, who duped the unfortunate Sommer again with a wonderful flick.
A decent opportunity to at least make the result bearable (Zakaria/74th) was countered by several chances for the Hanoverians (Beyer/47th, Weydandt/63rd and Börner/80th) to take VfL’s unworthy performance even harder punish.
Lars Stindl stunned
Gladbach captain Lars Stindl, who used to play for Hannover himself, was stunned after the final whistle: “We plan to do so much, drive here full of euphoria – and then get it on the pitch with zero. We absolutely have to be blamed for that. We know what a precarious situation we are in, so all questions are valid.”
The statement by Hannover midfielder Kerk was almost a slap in the face: “Gladbach showed surprisingly little resistance. We could have scored one or two more goals.”
Gladbach will continue on Saturday (01/22/22) at home against Union Berlin. Hannover receives Dynamo Dresden the next day.
Source: sportschau.de