In-form Gladbach down Schalke
Mönchengladbach - Borussia Mönchengladbach continued their march up the Bundesliga table with an impressive 3-1 victory over FC Schalke 04 at Borussia-Park on Sunday evening.
GLADBACH 3-1 SCHALKE
Goals: 1-0 Stindl (32’), 1-1 Christensen OG (44’), 2-1 Raffael (70’), 3-1 Korb (84’)
Having won their last four Bundesliga matches and also drawn away to Juventus in the UEFA Champions League during the week, Gladbach started full of confidence and put their visitors under pressure from the off. Lars Stindl had an early goal disallowed and Julian Korb drew a fine save from Ralf Fährmann as the Foals suffocated Schalke in their own half.
The hosts got the lead their dominance deserved on 32 minutes when Stindl headed in on the rebound after Fährmann had saved his penalty. However, Schalke equalised against the run of play just before the break when Andreas Christensen turned the ball into his own net from Max Meyer’s cross. Schalke were much better after the break but after failing to convert a number of chances, Gladbach retook the lead when Raffael scored an outstanding direct free-kick. Julian Korb drilled in a third late on to deservedly seal all three points for the hosts.
Man of the match
Gladbach were sensational for much of the encounter, and nobody more so than Ibrahima Traore. The winger’s pace and dribbling ability was too much for Schalke to handle, especially in the first half and he forced them onto the back foot wit his driving runs forward.
Talking point
Back in mid-September Gladbach were bottom of the league, without a single point on the board. A few weeks and five league games later, the Foals are up to seventh in the standings after winning a fifth consecutive Bundesliga match.
Match stats
- Fährmann has saved a quarter of all Bundesliga penalties taken against him (three of 12).Korb scored his first Bundesliga goal in his 54th top-flight outing.Raffael scored from a direct free-kick in the Bundesliga for the first time since 27 September 2009.
Line-ups:
Gladbach: Sommer – Korb, Christensen, Jantschke, Wendt – Traore (Hahn 74’, Hazard 82’), Dahoud (Nordtveit 57’), Xhaka, Johnson – Stindl, Raffael
Schalke: Fährmann – Riether, Höwedes, Matip, Aogo – Geis, Höjbjerg (Choupo Moting 78’) – Caicara (Hunterlaar 73’), Meyer, Sane – Di Santo (Neustädter 89’)
