Haris Tabaković stars as Borussia Mönchengladbach crush St. Pauli for first league win of the season
Haris Tabaković scored twice and provided an assist as Borussia Mönchengladbach ended their 15-game winless run in style with a dominant 4-0 victory over St. Pauli at the Millerntor.
St. Pauli 0-4 Borussia MönchengladbachGoals: 0-1 Tabaković 16’ (assist: Neuhaus), 0-2 Tabaković 40’ (assist: Honorat), 0-3 Machino 75’ (assist: Tabaković), 0-4 Fraulo 80’
The clash between St. Pauli and Gladbach pitted two teams desperate for points against each other. The hosts were winless in their last five league games and hadn't scored in over 328 minutes of Bundesliga action.
Meanwhile, the visitors were in an even more precarious situation, sitting bottom of the table without a single league victory since March - a club-record 15-game winless run.
Both sides entered the fixture with renewed confidence after midweek DFB Cup victories, with Alexander Blessin making four changes to his St. Pauli side and Eugen Polanski rotating three players for Gladbach.
Clinical Gladbach punish St. Pauli errors
After a cagey opening period, the match burst into life in the 15th minute when a horrendous pass from Nikola Vasilj was intercepted by Florian Neuhaus in midfield. The Gladbach midfielder quickly fed Tabaković, who tucked the ball into the empty net with Vasilj stranded. The Bosnian goalkeeper's error handed Gladbach their first lead in a Bundesliga match this season.
St. Pauli responded well to going behind and created good chances around the 25-minute mark, with Hauke Wahl testing Moritz Nicolas before Manolis Saliakas fired narrowly wide.
Gladbach then nearly doubled their advantage in the 27th minute when Joe Scally struck the inside of the post after finding himself through on goal.
The visitors wouldn't be denied for long, however, as Tabaković grabbed his second in the 40th minute, coolly finishing from Franck Honorat's low cross to give Gladbach a commanding 2-0 lead at the break.
Substitutes seal emphatic victory
Desperate to find a way back into the match, Blessin made three changes at half-time, bringing on Martijn Kaars, Abdoulie Ceesay and Andréas Hountondji for Oladapo Afolayan, Danel Sinani and Mathias Pereira Lage. The hosts showed more urgency but continued to struggle in front of goal.
Tabaković nearly completed his hat-trick in the 56th minute, denied only by a superb fingertip save from Vasilj that pushed his header onto the crossbar.
As St. Pauli committed more men forward, they left themselves increasingly vulnerable to Gladbach's counter-attacks. The visitors exploited this ruthlessly in the 75th minute when substitute Shuto Machino made it 3-0 with a clinical finish after being set up by Tabaković.
Any lingering hopes of a St. Pauli comeback were extinguished five minutes later when another substitute, Oscar Fraulo, pounced on a rebound after Machino's initial shot was saved to make it 4-0.
The final whistle confirmed Gladbach's first Bundesliga victory in over seven months, lifting them off the bottom of the table.
Man of the match: Haris Tabaković
Tabaković was the clear standout performer at the Millerntor, delivering a masterclass in clinical finishing that proved decisive in ending Gladbach's long winless run.
The striker scored twice in the first half—first capitalising on a goalkeeping error and then showing excellent movement to convert Honorat's cross.
He also demonstrated his all-round contribution by setting up Machino for the third goal. His statistics underlined his dominant display: five shots with two goals, an assist, and the highest Fantasy score of the match and indeed the weekend with 461 points.
Despite being under pressure 15 times (more than any other player), he maintained his composure throughout and was unlucky not to complete his hat-trick when his header was tipped onto the woodwork.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: St. Pauli 0.76 - Mönchengladbach 2.98
Fastest player: Franck Honorat (Gladbach), 32.69 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 0-3 by Shuto Machino (Gladbach), 12.55 percent
Most pressed player: Haris Tabaković (Gladbach), 15 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Lukas Ullrich (Gladbach), +3.98
Fantasy Heroes: Haris Tabaković (Gladbach, 461 Points), Moritz Nicolas (Gladbach, 259 Points), Nikola Vasilj (St. Pauli, 197 Points)
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