This was supposed to be the year that Borussia Mönchengladbach took the next step. Having staved off relegation in 2011, the Fohlenelf pushed on to the Europa League, competing in the second-tier continental competition three of the past four seasons. Last season they were clearly the third best team in Germany, and even took four points from the mighty Bayern Munich. And this year? They've conceded 11 goals in four games, lost them all, and are right at the bottom of the table.
What’s wrong with Borussia Mönchengladbach?
Last year’s third place finish may have been a slight overachievement, but after picking up zero points from their first three Bundesliga games, there’s real concern for Lucian Favre’s team.
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Over the summer, Wolfsburg poached striker Max Kruse, and midfielder Christoph Kramer went back to Bayer Leverkusen after his loan ended. Kruse had scored 11 and assisted nine goals in last year's edition of the Bundesliga. Kramer chipped in with a pair of goals and assists, playing in every game but four. Losing these two impact players to rivals hurts, but replacements were brought in.
Josip Drmić joined from Leverkusen, and Lars Stindl was brought in from Hannover 96. Drmić didn't have the best season for Die Werkself, but also wasn't afforded chances as the first choice striker. Stindl has a great record of scoring goals from midfield, netting ten times last year for the 96'ers. Winger Thorgan Hazard was also signed on a permanent basis.
Continuity issues at the start of a new campaign are felt by most every team, but this is a bit extreme. Manager Lucien Favre still has the core of his squad together: goalkeeper Yann Sommer, utility defender Tony Jantschke, midfield maestro Granit Xhaka, and lightning-quick wingers André Hahn and Patrick Herrmann. Trying to integrate two new players shouldn't pose such a problem, so is that really the issue?
Playing in the counterattacking style favored by Favre, a striker that can link play is crucial. Raffael is still around, but at age 30, he may not be as productive as in the past. The same goes for central defenders Roel Brouers (33) and Martin Stranzl (35). A big reason for their success has been squad rotation and keeping players fresh. However, injuries have prevented the defence from picking up where they left off last season, and Favre has been forced to use four different backline combinations in as many matches so far.
Have Gladbach just been flat out unlucky? In the opening day defeat against Borussia Dortmund, they were thrashed 4-0, being outshot 18-5 in the process. They bossed possession against Mainz and Werder Bremen, but only slightly outshot Mainz (15-13), and Bremen managed 22 shots to the Foals 9. Both of these matches ended in 2-1 defeats. While they're getting a decent number of shots away, only two have came at the end of counterattacking moves, and this needs to change.
Here’s a look at expected goals for BMG compared to their opponents in the first four matches of this season. Thanks to Michael Caley (@MC_of_A on Twitter) for the graphic. Clearly the chances aren’t coming as frequently as they should.
Revisiting the opening day drubbing suffered at the hands of Dortmund, I took the opportunity to rewatch the match in an effort to get a closer look at some of these scoring chances both missed by the Foals and that they afforded their Schwarzgelbe opponents.
First and foremost, Marvin Schulz (age 20) and Andreas Christiansen (19) were called upon to play in central defense. Brouwers is too slow to stay with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but then again, most are. Additionally, their youth and inexperience was demonstrated right from the start. Here, Mats Hummels picks out Marco Reus.
Reus plays a simple one-two ball with Shinji Kagawa, before finishing at the near post for the opening goal. Notice the three defenders closest to Reus are all caught ball watching rather than tracking the dangerous winger.
On the second goal, a cross came in from the left wing off the boot of Łukasz Piszczek, who had a lot of space to pick out Aubameyang. The Gabonese forward wasn’t even challenged in the air and found the back of the net with a superb header just seven minutes after the first goal.
Hardly more than half an hour had been played when Dortmund struck for the third time. Gladbach actually had some useful possession, in the BVB final third before fatally losing the ball to İlkay Gündoğan. The midfielder plays the perfect pass, and no one stands a chance in a footrace against Aubameyang.
Aubameyang beats the defenders to the 18-yard box, before squaring to Henrikh Mkhitaryan who makes it 3-0. Five minutes after half time, the Armenian bagged his brace. Pace was the culprit here, but it was Reus providing the run and assist. The ball goes over the top, and Mkhitaryan's run isn't tracked, leaving him with an easy finish to increase the lead to four. Once more, the defenders focus too much on the ball rather than the Dortmund players they are responsible for.
The best chance for Die Borussen came early in the match, with the game still scoreless. They couldn’t take advantage of the 2v1 chance, and Drmić‘s shot from a poor angle resulted in a corner, which wasn’t capitalized on. Last year, this would have been a certain goal. Here it is:
It was a total embarrassment for a team that looks to compete with the Dortmunds and Bayerns of the world, and a missed chance to set the tone at the start of the season.
While some of these problems should iron themselves out over the course of the year, the counterattacking style is rendered useless if advantageous situations (3v2, 2v1, etc.) aren’t converted. Without a forward that can win aerial duels, lumping the ball forward just won’t work. The attacking players need to work harder to link the play, but the midfielders and defenders simply can’t keep giving the ball away in their own half.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves by already declaring the season a disaster, but with Dortmund returning to the top of the table, and Bayern not showing any signs of stopping, qualifying for next year’s Champions League is going to be ridiculously tough. Wolfsburg won’t be pushed aside easily, nor will Leverkusen. There are still 30 matches to be played, but it’s a long climb from the basement that must be started sooner rather than later.
Almost every team struggles with fitness early into the campaign, so this can probably be written off, and conditioning levels will improve soon enough. Utility man Fabian Johnson should return from his hamstring injury, as will defender Álvaro Domínguez.
But after losing a home match against perennial strugglers Hamburger SV, 3-0, it looks like it’s time to panic. Can they avoid getting destroyed in Champions League midweek?
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