Gladbach leave Bundesliga basement after goalless draw with Freiburg

Borussia Mönchengladbach and SC Freiburg had different targets ahead of the last game of matchday 6. The hosts were presented with a chance of getting out of the relegation places with a less dramatic night than last week’s 6-4 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.

There were hardly any signs of that here in the first-half. Freiburg, who could crack the top-six after successive 1-1 draws in the Bundesliga and Europa League, posed no threat to Gladbach’s revamped defense with Eugen Polanski’s four changes stabilising the team.

Gladbach’s captain Rocco Reitz had the best chance for the hosts in the half-hour mark when his effort was blocked. Nonetheless, the interim coach was delighted that they didn’t concede five first-half goals this time around. The visitors failed to even register a shot on target before the half-time break.

Julian Schuster makes his first substitution for the restart as Johan Manzambi replaces Lucas Höler. However, the hosts started the half brightly with Florian Neuhaus testing Noah Atubolu with a long-range shot.

Five minutes later, Daniel Schlager had to make his first big decision of the night. Niklas Beste wanted a penalty-kick after a tussle with Philipp Sander, but the referee waves play to continue. Including Gladbach’s new midfielder, three players saw their names cautioned in the referee’s book in the next ten minutes following that incident.

Half-time substitute Manzambi had one of the big chances of the game when his volley narrowly missed the target. Polanski brought Gladbach II’s goal-getter Jan Urbich expecting a similar outcome. The 21-year-old earned his first team debut after Harry Kane-esque numbers in Regionalliga.

But it’s still Neuhaus who had the next couple of goal-scoring opportunities, with the German international making easy saves both times. Another Freiburg substitute followed that up with the game’s best chance.