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Borussia Mönchengladbach celebrated a return to winning ways against SV Werder Bremen on Friday, posting a 4-1 victory on home turf. - © © gettyimages / Baron
Borussia Mönchengladbach celebrated a return to winning ways against SV Werder Bremen on Friday, posting a 4-1 victory on home turf. - © © gettyimages / Baron

Five-star Mönchengladbach brush aside Bremen

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Borussia Mönchengladbach bounced back from consecutive defeats in emphatic style on Friday by beating SV Werder Bremen 5-1 at BORUSSIA-PARK.

Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-1 SV Werder Bremen

Goals: 1-0 Stindl (12’), 2-0 Christensen (32’), 3-0 Christensen (50’), 3-1 Pizarro (pen. 57’), 4-1 Raffael (pen. 70’), 5-1 Nordtveit (87')

On the evidence of Gladbach’s display here, many Foals fans will be wondering how their team lost their first two matches of the year. Andre Schubert’s charges were irresistible from the off, sweeping forward at every opportunity and completely overrunning their visitors. The opening goal was sublime, with Lars Stindl finishing a flowing move involving Mahmoud Dahoud and Thorgan Hazard.

Andreas Christensen added a deserved second just after the half-hour mark, tapping in at the back post following another well-worked passage of play. The defender then met a second-half corner to give Gladbach a three-goal cushion, before veteran striker Claudio Pizarro pulled one back for the visitors from the penalty spot. Yet Raffael soon extinguished Bremen’s hopes of a dramatic comeback by netting a spot-kick after Stindl had been brought down. Havard Nordtveit’s late long-range stunner moments before the final whistle crowned a well-earned victory.

Man of the match

Dahoud was the outstanding player on the pitch. Although he only registered one assist, the 20-year-old had a hand in the build-up to Gladbach’s first three goals.

Talking point

Following a run of six consecutive Friday night games without scoring, Gladbach finally found the net again here to win a seventh home game of the season.

Match stats

    Pizarro made his 400th Bundesliga appearance in this game and netted his 182nd league goal, taking him joint-fifth in the all-time scorers’ chart. Bremen's Hungarian midfielder Laszlo Kleinheisler made his full Bundesliga debut.Hazard provided his second league assist of the season; his first was away to Bremen on Matchday 3 when he teed up Stindl.

Line-ups

Gladbach: Sommer – Elvedi, Christensen, Hinteregger, Wendt – Hazard (Traore 67’), Nordtveit (c), Dahoud (Stranzl 84’), Johnson – Raffael (Hrgota 86’), Stindl

Bremen: Wiedwald – Gebre Selassie, Vestergaard, Djilobodji, Guwara – Öztunali, Fritz (c), Junuzovic (Fröde 86’), Kleinheisler (Eggestein 75’) – Ujah (Bartels 57’), Pizarro