Berlin – Marco Rose was served mightily, but turned out to be a good loser. Despite the disappointment about the 0: 1 (0: 1) of his decimated team and the initial chants of the local fans, the coach of Borussia Dortmund first congratulated his former football professionals from Mönchengladbach on their victory before giving consolation to the losers. His visit to the opposing cabin a little later also contributed to the relaxation. Rose felt little desire to continue the ongoing topic of the past few weeks with loud headlines about his explosive return to his old place of work: “Let’s just tick it off, I think it’s enough.”
Marco Rose has to listen to expressions of displeasure
On his first visit to the Gladbach stadium since his move to BVB, which was accompanied with criticism by many fans, it turned out to be sticky for Rose. He could easily get over the brief and manageable expressions of displeasure from the stands, where he was denigrated as a “mercenary” and “son of a bitch”. “I prepared for that beforehand,” he commented, referring to the warm atmosphere after the game during his flying visit to the Gladbach cabin: “I saw my boys again, with whom I had two wonderful years.”
For him, the frustration over the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the bitter defeat weighed more heavily than the whistles of the fans. Both the short-term failure of the two key players Erling Haaland and Marco Reus as well as the much-discussed dismissal for Mahmoud Dahoud (40th) just three minutes after Denis Zakaria’s conceded goal threw BVB back after four competitive successes in the title race. “Now we’re a few points behind Bayern again,” complained licensed player boss Sebastian Kehl.
The dependence of BVB on goal machine Haaland and impulse generator Reus, who injured themselves in the final training on Friday, became apparent in Gladbach. The short-term failures of the actually indispensable core staff required extensive restructuring in the planned Dortmund starting eleven. The only 16-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko stormed for Haaland, Dahoud took Reus’ place in the central offensive midfield. In addition, coach Rose switched to a three-way chain in defense.
Despite these changes, BVB got off to a better start and seemed close to an early lead when BVB substitute captain Mats Hummels (8th) scored an offside goal. Nonetheless, both teams found it difficult to create goalscoring opportunities. The Gladbachers, who could again count on the national player Jonas Hofmann, who had recovered from a muscle injury, lacked ideas, the guests lacked punch in the attack center.
Denis Zakaria decides the game
The expected race game of the two actually strong teams with a lot of speed and goal area scenes did not develop at first. Only after 30 minutes did the game pick up speed, because the Gladbachers now played more courageously and faster forward. And this drive was immediately rewarded. After an unfortunate defensive attempt by BVB talent Jude Bellingham, Zakaria was there with a shot from twelve meters and scored the winning goal.
On the other hand, the highly praised offensive of the Revierclub, in which the injured Giovanni Reyna and Julian Brandt were also missing, remained for the first time after the club’s record of 37 Bundesliga games without a goal. Rose hopes that both Haaland and Reus will be available again in Tuesday’s Champions League game against Sporting Lisbon. There is not much time to dispel the frustration with the 0: 1.