Alassane Plea and Thorgan Hazard both scored in the space of nine second-half minutes to pave the way for Borussia Mönchengladbach's 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday as the Foals cantered into the top five.

Gladbach 3-1 Frankfurt

Goals: 1-0 Plea (56'), 2-0 Hazard (65'), 2-1 Rebic (73'), 3-1 Elvedi (85')

Frankfurt have scored more goals and registered more wins in Mönchengladbach than on any other Bundesliga away trip, but they needed goalkeeper Kevin Trapp to keep them on an even keel before the break on their latest visit. The Germany international denied Plea and Matthias Ginter before half-time as well as turning aside a long-distance Florian Neuhaus drive. In a rare foray forward, Frankfurt did find a way past Yann Sommer, but Sebastien Haller's effort was chalked off for offside.

Hazard served notice of Gladbach's flying start to the second half when he clipped the side-netting with a free-kick. The Belgium international then found the inside of the net to double the hosts' lead after Plea had fired high past Trapp. Frankfurt should have cancelled that strike out, but David Abraham hit a post before Ante Rebic, who had been on the pitch for just 12 minutes, pulled one back in only his second competitive appearance since the FIFA World Cup. The Croatia international and Filip Kostic might have added a second, but Nico Elvedi's header had already ensured any late addition to the scoreline would be little more than an anecdote.

Match stats

Gladbach forward Plea has registered three goals and one assist in five Bundesliga appearances to date.Foals forward Hazard ended a run of four Bundesliga games without a goal against Frankfurt.Gladbach had been winless in their previous five meetings with Frankfurt in all competitions, losing both fixtures against the Eagles in 2017/18.Rebic registered six goals and three assists in the Bundesliga last season - this was his first of the 2018/19 campaign.

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Line-ups

Gladbach: Sommer - Beyer, Ginter, Elvedi, Wendt - Neuhaus, Kramer - Hofmann, Herrmann (Zakaria 76') - Plea (Johnson 73'), Hazard (Traore 89')
Unused subs: Sippel, Lang, Cuisance, Strobl
Absentees: Drmic (back), Jantschke (pelvis), Raffael (calf), Villalba (thigh)
Coach: Dieter Hecking

Frankfurt: Trapp - Abraham, Hasebe, Ndicka - Da Costa, Kostic, Fernandes (De Guzman 72'), Gacinovic (Jovic 73'), Willems - Müller (Rebic 62') - Haller
Unused subs: Rönnow, Falette, Russ, Allan
Absentees: Chandler, Fabian (both knee), Paciencia (meniscus), Salcedo (ankle), Tawatha (back), Torro (pubic bone)
Coach: Adi Hütter

Watch: Plea loving life at Gladbach

As it happened

Click here for the Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Eintracht Frankfurt Match Centre!