bundesliga

Denis Zakaria menaces former Gladbach coach Marco Rose and earns the Foals a win over Borussia Dortmund

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Marco Rose's return to Borussia Mönchengladbach ended in disappointment for the Borussia Dortmund coach as his side fell to a Denis Zakaria goal, which lifted the Foals out of the relegation zone and denied Dortmund the chance of moving up to second.

Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-0 Borussia Dortmund
Goals: 1-0 Zakaria (37')
Red cards: Dahoud (40')

After a tense and even opening, Gladbach carved out the first big chance in the 19th minute, but the ball did not fall kindly for Matthias Ginter as it ricocheted around the penalty area. The hosts remained on the back foot but seemed to be comfortable doing so as Dortmund could not muster any magic to break a way through. The hosts then seized the initiative and took the lead with ruthless efficiency. Raphael Guerreiro's backheeled clearance was picked up by Zakaria, who exchanged passes with Ginter and then got a lucky rebound off Jude Bellingham before picking his spot past Gregor Kobel. Soon after, Lars Stindl broke down the right and tried to tee up Luca Netz with a low cross that the 18-year-old met on the slide, but could not keep in play, and Gladbach's hopes of victory were boosted further when Mahmoud Dahoud saw his second yellow card and preceded the other 21 players to the dressing room by five minutes.

Jonas Hofmann fizzed in the first shot of the second half which Kobel did well to turn behind, as Gladbach immediately sought to turn the screw with their extra man. Dortmund had gambled at the restart with Thorgan Hazard replacing Marin Pongracic, but they continued to struggle to find any space in the final third. At the other end, Zakaria found room to test Kobel once more before Ginter headed wide from the resultant corner. Hofmann got in around the back of the Dortmund defence as more and more gaps opened up for Gladbach, but he could not find a teammate having done all the hard work. Hazard then wasted Dortmund's best chance of the game right at the death, looping a free header onto the roof of the net as the hosts held on for only their second win of the season.

Match stats

  • Zakaria has scored each of Gladbach's last two goals in the Bundesliga.
  • Dortmund's club record of 37 Bundesliga matches with at least one goal scored came to an end.
  • BVB have conceded at least one goal in their last nine Bundesliga matches, all under Marco Rose. Only VfB Stuttgart have not kept a clean sheet for a longer period of time.
  • Dahoud saw his first Bundesliga red card in his 137th match, though it was his second career dismissal and came in the same venue as his first: in the DFB Cup in March 2021.
  • Dortmund have won four of their opening five games for the 12th time. On 10 out of the last 11 such occasions, they have gone on to finish at least fourth in the final standings.

Watch: Bellingham: “It’s so difficult with ten men”

Line-ups

Gladbach: Sommer - Jantschke, Ginter, Elvedi - Scally, Kone (Kramer 73'), Zakaria, Netz (Wolf 70') - Stindl (c), Hofmann (Benes 83') - Embolo
Unused subs: Sippel, Herrmann, Plea, Beyer, Neuhaus, Bennetts
Out: Bensebaini (groin), Doucoure (Achilles tendon), Lainer (ankle), Thuram (knee)
Coach: Adi Hütter

Dortmund: Kobel - Pongracic (Hazard 46'), Hummels, Akanji - Meunier (Wolf 82'), Bellingham, Witsel, Dahoud, Guerreiro (Schulz 82') - Moukoko (Knauff 57'), Malen (Reinier 82')
Unused subs: Hitz, Passlack
Out: Brandt (muscular), Can (thigh), Coulibaly (knee), Haaland (muscular), Morey (knee), Reus (knock), Reyna (thigh), Schmelzer (thigh), Schulz (knee), Tigges (thigh), Zagadou (knee)
Coach: Marco Rose

Watch: Sommer: “We needed to be calmer on the ball”