Borussia Mönchengladbach clearly wins an emotional game against RB Leipzig. There are rude insults towards two former Gladbach main characters.
Insults and bitter bankruptcy: Marco Rose had a very bitter night when he returned to Mönchengladbach. A week after his dream debut as RB Leipzig’s new coach, his side lost 0-3 (0-2) in an emotional game at former club Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday night. A strike from international Jonas Hofmann (10 minutes/35 minutes) and a superb find from Ramy Bensebain (53 minutes) sealed Borussia’s third successive home win against Leipzig. On the last day of the game, Rose beat his other former club Borussia Dortmund 3-0.
With just eight points from seven games, the Cup winner and Champions League entrant continues to fall short of expectations. Coach Daniel Farke’s team from Mönchengladbach, on the other hand, is twelve points in touch with the top group of the Bundesliga and jumped to sixth in the table.
Warm mood
The atmosphere at Borussia Park in front of 50,186 spectators was particularly hot because of the personal details of Rose and Max Eberl. Rose was booed when he came in shortly before the start of the game and was later abused by fan chants. After leaving Mönchengladbach in 2021, the Leipzig coach also lost to his former club Borussia Dortmund almost exactly a year ago (0:1). Even then, because of the corona virus, he felt the excitement of the fans in the stadium, which was only half full at the time.
Gladbach’s fan curve also worked for former Manager Eberl. Last week, the Borussia fan project settled accounts with Eberl in an open letter about his upcoming move to RB. In it, Gladbach’s long-time sporting director, who said he retired in January for health reasons, was accused of lying, among other things.
The stadium announcer warned the fans
The stadium was also very busy. Eberl was verbally abused in the posters. The stadium announcer even warned fans on the curve to remove the poster or referee Patrick Ittrich would stop the game. It read: “Bitch Association only hires bastards.” In fact, it was removed soon after. Others read: “Months of playing poker with a structure without a soul – Max Eberl, your change of heart makes us sick” and “No one here will ever forget where we come from – and where you want to go, you characterless bastard”.
Eberl had always been a harsh critic of the RB structure of the Red Bull cosmos during his time in Mönchengladbach. According to RB CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, negotiations with Gladbach about Eberl joining the Saxons are nearing completion.
At least the Borussia professionals didn’t let the unrest get irritated. Gladbach was clearly superior. Of the visitors who lost 2-0 to Real Madrid in the Champions League last week, especially left-back David Raum had a bad day. Before 0:1, the national team player made a crucial mistake. Goalscorer Hofmann added a good 20 minutes to Leipzig’s 3-1 win last season. After a renewed forehand from Marcus Thuram, who was also strong, Hofmann successfully executed a stunning counter-attack to score his sixth Bundesliga goal against RB. Only Robert Lewandowski (7) has scored more goals against Leipzig.
At the break, Rose brought on Xaver Schlager and Timo Werner, two top performers he had initially rested. Even though Leipzig became more attacking, Borussia’s persuasion continued to simmer. Of particular note is Bensebain’s brilliant flick over RB keeper Peter Gulacs for the early decision.