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Game scene: The game was long over when the shaking of getting ahead started. Minutes after the final whistle in Madrid, the Gladbach team gathered in front of their own bench, they formed a circle around a screen and looked like a group of football fans wanting to watch the World Cup final, but only one of them has a phone smart with them. What happened was not a World Cup final, but the last moments of the duel between Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk. Then no goals were scored and Gladbach’s party started.
Result of the match in Madrid: Borussia Mönchengladbach lost 0: 2 (0: 2) at Real, although the 90 minutes were more one-sided than the result suggests. However, Borussia was allowed to celebrate.
Match result in Milan: Because the Inter match at home against Schachtjor failed to win (0-0), Gladbach is second behind Real in the second round of the group’s Champions League. The Milanese are the last and therefore they are completely out of the European Cup.
Game pattern: Real Madrid attacked Gladbach’s left defense, winning a one-on-one duel and shortly after, Real’s star forward Karim Benzema headed the ball into the goal without pressure from the rival. That is what happened before the 1-0 in Madrid. And before 2-0. And another chance. The Real was too big a size for Mönchengladbach that night.
Once Gladbach passed: 25th minute: Lars Stindl wins a ball from Lucas Vázquez near his own corner flag, then Borussia counterattack: Florian Neuhaus sends Alassane Pléa deep, the forward does not accelerate the ball with his strong right foot. So Thibaut Courtois has to finish with his left in front of the Real goalkeeper on the move, and lifts the ball beyond the goal. Good opportunity, very good. But only the only one in this category that Gladbach won.
In contrast to royalty: They were very unlucky at their graduation. Luka Modric missed half against goalkeeper Yann Sommer, half against the post (minute 39). Rodrygo hit the outside post (69). Benzema nailed a blocked header by Sergio Ramos on the lower edge of the crossbar (73). Lucas Vázquez hit the post (78º). Correctly counted: Aluminum also prevented another Madrid blow four times. Gladbach was very well served with this 0-2.
Banger looks at Milan: At the back, the game between Inter and Schachtjor was central for Borussia, a victory no matter which team had let them go from second to third place. What Gladbach’s celebratory circle had missed after the final whistle in Madrid were Inter chances almost every minute. One of the most important was particularly dramatic for the Milanese: shortly before the end, Alexis Sánchez headed his teammate Romelu Lukaku, Inter’s best striker who presumably prevented the winning goal. It was one of the 21 degrees of Milan. They are eliminated from the Bundesliga for the second time in a row in a group with an opponent, but this time there is no participation in the Europa League as a consolation prize. This is a disaster for a team with so many demands.
In a class of its own: That afternoon in Madrid it was Karim Benzema. For years, the Frenchman had to make space for center forward Cristiano Ronaldo in the Real game, and since his departure he has taken over the Los Blancos offensive almost alone. The force with which he placed his head butts, the downward movements on the back of his opponents, the class in the combine, all of that showed how great this footballer is. Benzema has already scored 69 goals in the Champions League, only four players have more: Bayern’s Robert Lewandsowki, Real legend Raúl, Lionel Messi and of course: Ronaldo.
Gladbach’s history written: On the occasion of this year’s matches against Inter and Real, journalists like to unearth stories from the past, the firing of the rifle in Boninsegna in 1971, the 1976 Madrid match that was possibly whistled. They are nostalgic anecdotes that describe a venerable old Borussia who almost broke down at his wedding. Eye level was with the greats of Europe. Today’s Borussia write their own stories. For the first time since the introduction of the Champions League in 1992, Gladbach qualified for the round of 16 (and scored the most goals in the competition: 16). The club last came this far in the European Cup in 1978, when Berti Vogts, Rainer Bonhof and Jupp Heynckes played. That team reached the semifinals. This Gladbach team will hardly go that far. But his place in the club’s history is secure.
