Granit Xhaka was sent off and chances were squandered overnight as Borussia Monchengladbach and FC Ingolstadt fought out a goalless draw at Borussia-Park on Matchday 12 of the Bundesliga.
Xhaka was dismissed for a second yellow card late on after having been involved in arguments with the referee throughout the match, however there was too little time left for Ingolstadt to capitalise their numerical advantage.
Gladbach’s best chance came in the first half when Ingolstadt keeper Ramazan Ozcan fluffed a simple clearance, sending it straight to Raffael, however the Brazilian couldn’t finish with enough power, and his shot was cleared off the line late by Marvan Matip. Matip had a gilt-edged chance of his own too; he missed the wide-open header just in front of goal with Yann Sommer rooted to the spot.
Neither team created many solid chances, with both defences doing well to contain the opposition forwards all game. Matip was arguably the player of the match as he ensured Raffael and Lars Stindl made very little impact, also making two invaluable clearances to boot.
Team News
Andre Schubert made no changes to the team that tore through Hertha Berlin last weekend, with his standard 4-4-2 making an appearance once again. Fabian Johnson and Ibrahima Traore graced the wide positions of the midfield bank once more, while Lars Stindl and Raffael were once more chosen in their two-man centre forward pivot.
Gladbach XI: Sommer; Nordtveit, Christensen, Dominguez, Wendt; Johnson, Xhaka, Dahoud, Traore; Stindl, Raffael
For the visitors, Elias Kachunga was replaced upfront by Lukas Hinterseer, while Romain Bregerie retained his spot in central midfield from the 1 – 1 draw with Stoke. Max Christiansen was replaced in the midfield by Alfredo Morales who began on the left, with Pascal Groz shifted across to the right for this match, rounding out the changes made by Ralph Hasenhuttl
Ingolstadt: Ozcan; Levels, Matip, Hubbner, Suttner; Gros, Bregerie, Morales; Hartmann, Hinterseer, Leckie
Ingolstadt look to press from the Get-Go
From the outset, it was clear exactly what Ingolstadt had in their minds to do. In recent weeks, sides have allowed Gladbach too much time on the ball to construct and carry out their attacking raids, and the visitors looked to quell that freedom from the start here. The fluid front three of Matthew Leckie, Hinterseer and Moritz Hartmann pressed high from the first whistle, chasing the ball all the way back to Yann Sommer’s 18-yard box on occasion. And it worked; with Gladbach struggled to build anything from the back in the manner they typically enjoy.
Often, the visitor’s pressure forced them into long, pressure-relieving bombs up field, allowing Ingolstadt to retrieve possession and build as their opponents failed to press so aggressively.
Unfortunately no goals today at BORUSSIA-PARK. Here’s the picture gallery from the game. #BMGFCI #fohlenelf pic.twitter.com/OA0aCIlAjd
— Borussia (@borussia_en) November 7, 2015
Aerial Superiority not just a thing of the past
Despite not having a huge number of big players in their team, Borussia Monchengladbach are making a habit of dominating the air space in their matches, a trend that they continued once more here. Here, they out-fought Ingolstadt in the air to the tune of 25 wins to 23, off the back of a 32 – 13 win in the same stat category last week against Hertha Berlin.
This significant aerial dominance puts immediate pressure on the opposition, with Gladbach able to initiate hold-up play very flexibly, and knock-down high balls for runners to gather.
While the dominance did not provide the same clear-cut advantage in this match as it did last week, the continued presence of this aerial threat is sure to worry other teams.
Gladbach lineup allows for tactical flexibility:
As last night’s match wore on, Die Fohlen struggled to break through a rugged visiting defence, and Andre Schubert made a tactical change looking to shake up their approach. Initially setup as a basic 4-4-2, occasionally drifting into a 4-2-3-1 with Lars Stindl dropping in behind, holding midfielder Mo Dahoud was pulled, with Josip Drmic coming on for the youngster. Schubert dropped Captain Granit Xhaka into a deeper role in front of the defence, and forming a bank of three (Johnson, Stindl, Traore) in behind Raffael and Drmic up top.
The move nearly paid dividends with Drmic almost manufacturing a winner, but the ball refused to nestle in the back of the net. Schubert’s quick switch showed the versatility that this side is beginning to adopt for different stages of the game.
This result leaves Gladbach and Ingolstadt sitting sixth and tenth in the table respectively, with Ingolstadt’s incredible away record gaining momentum. Visitors here, they have gained 12 of their sixteen points this season on the road, compared to just four at home. For Gladbach, this was their seventh match in a row undefeated in the league, albeit snapping their six match-winning streak, and they head into the international break in a strong position.
All sides now have a week off thanks to the international scheduling, and on the league’s return, Gladbach will welcome Hannover to Borussia-Park, with Ingolstadt facing a trip to Darmstadt.
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