Bundesliga - Ngoumou saves Gladbach victory and ends Hoffenheim's streak
Borussia Mönchengladbach moved into the top half of the table with their fourth home win in a row and inflicted their first away defeat of the Bundesliga season on TSG Hoffenheim. The hosts defeated the Kraichgauers, who had not won in five competitive matches, 2:1 (0:0) on Saturday to record their fourth win in a row against Hoffenheim. Alassane Plea (58th minute/foul penalty) and Nathan Ngoumou (80th) scored for Gladbach in front of 49,341 spectators at Borussia-Park. Wout Weghorst (60') scored for the visitors.
Hoffenheim coach Pellegrino Matarazzo had given his team a bit of a makeover after some of their recent uninspiring performances and called up four new players. This time, Andrej Kramaric also had to make do with a place on the bench. Finn Ole Becker replaced the suspended Grischa Prömel in the starting eleven.
With the new momentum, the visitors had some good attacking moves right from the start. Maximilian Beier narrowly missed the opening goal twice (3rd/19th). Anton Stach failed to score shortly afterwards and again before the break with a long-range shot against Gladbach keeper Moritz Nicolas, who put in a strong performance.
Gladbach were forced to make a number of changes a week after the 4-2 defeat at Borussia Dortmund, as defensive players Julian Weigl and Maximilian Wöber as well as strikers Tomas Cvancara and Jordan Siebatcheu were unavailable.
Florian Neuhaus and Marvin Friedrich therefore returned to the starting line-up after four games. Coach Gerardo Seoane surprisingly opted for the speedy Ngoumou in the center of attack, who initially only posed a threat in attack with his pace. "This is the boys' chance and they can take advantage of it and present themselves again for the game in the cup," said the Swiss coach, who will face VfL Wolfsburg with his team in the DFB Cup round of 16 on Tuesday.
However, the hosts generally struggled against Hoffenheim's compact defense. Gladbach created few chances to score. The best were Rocco Reitz, who shot over the goal from close range and an acute angle shortly before the break, and Plea, whose shot just missed the left post.
A penalty then gave the hosts the lead. After Ozan Kabak fouled Plea, Plea took advantage of the foul himself and converted the penalty to make it 1-0. Weghorst saved Hoffenheim's away series with his fourth goal of the season. But Ngoumou rescued victory for Gladbach after Luca Netz's pass.
Borussia Mönchengladbach squad TSG Hoffenheim squad
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- The victory against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim moved Borussia Mönchengladbach into the upper half of the Bundesliga table.
- Gladbach's home win against Hoffenheim ended Hoffenheim's streak of avoiding defeat in away matches in the Bundesliga.
- Andrej Kramaric, a key player for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, was benched for the match against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
- The division of points in the Bundesliga saw Borussia Mönchengladbach in fourth place while Hoffenheim was in sixth place in their respective divisions in North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg.
- The home win for Borussia Mönchengladbach was their fourth in a row this season, while TSG 1899 Hoffenheim had not won a single match in their last five competitive matches.
- Grischa Prömel, a regular starter for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, was suspended and replaced by Finn Ole Becker for this crucial Bundesliga match.
- The fastest player in Gladbach's squad, Nathan Ngoumou, scored the crucial second goal for Gladbach in the 80th minute of the game.
- In the post-match interview, Gladbach's coach Gerardo Seoane acknowledged the importance of the home win and expressed optimism about their upcoming DFB Cup round 16 game against VfL Wolfsburg.
Source: www.stern.de
