Analysis — The Gladbach Show
Friday, 08/01/2021 — Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–2 Bayern Munich
A big win for Gladbach against the reigning German and European champions, coming back from 2 goals down. Jonas Hofmann registered two goals and an assist making him the standout performer, showing extreme composure and technical ability in front of goal. Following is a breakdown of the two goals by Hofmann with a detailed description of the technical components involved. The brilliance of these goals is rooted in the technical execution of fundamental football concepts, especially under pressure and at speed. While Hofmann is the protagonist in both these goals, I wanted to highlight as well the effectiveness of their tactical play as a team in creating these opportunities.
Goal 1
(1) Gladbach looked to press Bayern Munich in the middle 1/3rd. By actively closing spaces in the middle of the pitch they forced the Bayern midfielders to receive facing their own goal. This was possibly the trigger for the press with the players converging onto the opponent.
(2) On winning the ball, with the players close together, Gladbach are able to play out using their numerical superiority in this area. In tight spaces, Gladbach don’t take too many touches with Hofmann laying the ball off for Neuhaus, who finds himself in a position to play forward.
In space, Neuhaus receives the ball in a side-on position with his back foot allowing him to locate the free man. Closed down by Kimmich, Neuhaus uses the outside of his front-foot to pass the ball to Stindl. In 4 touches overall, Gladbach have managed to recover the ball and find their central attacker who, playing as a false-9, finds himself in a lot of space between the Bayern defense and midfield.
Keep an eye on Hofmann who starts his sprint towards the Bayern goal, immediately after his pass.
(3) The recovering midfielder does a good job of closing down Stindl but is unable to get goal-side of him. Stindl does a good job of getting his body in between his opponent and the ball, allowing the ball to roll past him to his back-foot. Alaba finds himself in no-man’s-land, getting sucked into following Stindl playing as a false-9.
The last two images show the brilliance of Gladbach’s approach in creating an opportunity. The two wide attackers occupy the fullbacks to begin with, but are on the alert for the centre-backs drifting from their position. Here, the left-side attacker holds his position, occupying Pavard, while Hofmann runs into the space vacated by Alaba. At the same time, the far-side attacker has also recognized the signal to start his move into the empty space creating a 2v1 situation against Neuer.
Stindl plays a brilliant reverse pass, under pressure, into the path of Hofmann who finds himself bearing down on goal.
(4) I cannot overstate the importance of disguised moves, especially at the highest level. Hofmann shapes up to shoot towards the far post before slotting the ball calmly Neuer. Neuer’s outstretched left-leg shows just how important and effective the disguise was, forcing him towards the wrong side. Brilliant technical execution against arguably the best goalkeeper in world football at the moment.
Goal 2
(1) Once again you see the quick closing down in the middle 1/3rd of the pitch by Gladbach. Kimmich is forced to take his first touch facing his own goal. Three Gladbach players converge immediately to close him down. Stindl, playing in a withdrawn role is able to contribute towards his team’s pressing in the middle of the pitch.
(2) Stindl uses his body to ease Kimmich off the ball and finds himself in space, able to play a forward pass. The movement of Hofmann is key because he’s on his way as soon as the ball is won — great anticipation and something that Gladbach definitely practiced on the training ground. Additionally, he makes his run behind Süle who is caught looking at the ball.
Again, through perfect execution of their tactical plan and good technical ability Gladbach create a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
(3) The best goalkeepers are able to dominate 1v1 situations and Neuer is certainly one of the most dominant keepers in world football. Hofmann, however, is calmness personified and sells the near-post finish (disguise) to Neuer before calmly finishing at the far-post.
These goals did not involve any great tricks or skills and this is evident in the lack of any videos or clips of these goals on social media. The tricks and flicks make for great highlight reels but performing fundamental skills consistently under pressure is the mark of top footballers. The “flashy” ones (for the lack of a better term) do this too. It’s just the flash bits that get highlighted unfortunately. The beauty of football is in the details.
