After a poor performance in midweek, Borussia Dortmund looked to bounce back against rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The first half saw Dortmund in control for most of it but the game really picked up halfway through the half when Nico Schlotterbeck played through Marcel Sabitzer and was able to volley it past Jonas Omlin after the Gladbach defence failed to track the Austrian’s run.
Six minutes later it was Schlotterbeck once again involved as the defender drew a penalty when Nathan Ngoumou stepped on his foot. Sabitzer then stepped up to double Dortmund’s lead.
Gladbach was poor for most of the half but then began to create chances from the flanks and were rewarded when Maximilian Wöber scored from a corner to keep Gladbach in the tie.
The biggest talking point from the second half was, of course, VAR. A through ball from Dortmund was played through Karim Adeyemi, but Gladbach’s Omlin got to the ball first, however, the ref viewed others wise and gave Dortmund another penalty. Sabitzer stepped up and scored the penalty, but then VAR decided to check the foul by Omlin and ruled that it was not a foul, so the penalty and goal were then ruled out. A couple of minutes later, Adeyemi would then be sent off for a second yellow.
Dortmund allowed Gladbach to come back into the game in the second half and die Fohlen had several good chances to equalise if it were not for poor finishing or Gregor Kobel.
Due to Leipzig also winning, Dortmund remain in fifth but their attention now turns towards Tuesday when they host Atletico Madrid. Die Schwarzgelben will need to play A LOT better if they want to beat Atleti and make it into the semi-finals.
Borussia Mönchengladbach XI:
Jonas Omlin (6), Marvin Friedrich (5), Nico Elvedi (5), Maximilian Wöber (6), Stefan Lainer (5), Julian Weigl (5), Ko Itakura (5), Luca Netz (5), Franck Honorat (6), Alassane Plea (5), Nathan Ngoumou (5)
Others: Robin Hack (5), Tomas Cvancara (5), Rocco Reitz (5), Jordan (-), Patrick Herrman (-)
Borussia Dortmund XI:
Gregor Kobel (6), Marius Wolf (5), Niklas Süle (6), Nico Schlotterbeck (7), Ian Maatsen (6), Marcel Sabitzer (8), Salih Özcan (5), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (6), Julian Brandt (6), Karim Adeyemi (5), Sebastien Haller (-)
Others: Youssoufa Moukoko (5), Julian Ryerson (5), Donyell Malen (5), Felix Nmecha (5), Mats Hummels (5)
GGFN | Jack Meenan
