Leverkusen. Borussia Mönchengladbach can draw something positive from the defeat against Bayer Leverkusen. But there is also bad news.
With the 0:3 by Patrik Schick it was clear that Borussia Mönchengladbach will not take any points away from the BayArena this Saturday evening. Bayer Leverkusen dominated the derby against their Rhenish rivals without creating too many great chances. At least that’s what the Gladbachers were able to take home with them as a little encouragement.
“If you do so well defensively against an absolute top opponent, you can actually be very happy,” said Gladbach’s sports director Roland Virkus after his team’s 3-1 defeat. “Every little mistake is punished against such a top team, and we made two of them.” Apart from that, it was a “decent performance” from his team.
Will Gladbach’s defense hold up against VfL Bochum?
In fact, with ten shots on goal, Leverkusen only had slightly more than Gladbach’s seven attempts. For long stretches, the defense around Ko Itakura and Nico Elvedi put up a brave fight against the big favorites – until Florian Wirtz’s individual class made the difference again.
Good for Borussia: They have a Florian Wirtz VfL Bochum not in the squad. The Revierklub, which achieved a dramatic 3-3 draw at home against RB Leipzig in the afternoon, will be guests at Borussia Park next Saturday. Gladbach’s hope is that ex-Foal coach Dieter Hecking’s team will find it much more difficult than champions Leverkusen against a defense with this stability.
-Also interesting
Another question is whether Gladbach can be more dangerous against Bochum than during long stretches of the Rhenish derby. The offensive was rarely able to embarrass the Werkself, who dominated the game. After all: top scorer Tim Kleindienst was able to gain some self-confidence with the consolation goal shortly before the end.
Fee replacement? Virkus keeps everything open
Kleindienst and Borussia will again sorely miss top assist provider Franck Honorat. The Frenchman, represented against Leverkusen by regular center forward Tomas Cvancara, will be out for a while longer than previously thought due to his hairline fracture in his foot and will definitely not be available against Bochum.
Will Gladbach react with a transfer? “I should know,” Virkus said with a grin. There are no specific plans to sign another winger, but further transfers are not generally ruled out: “We are watching and seeing what happens. Things can happen tomorrow that you have to react to tomorrow.”
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