Hertha BSC is racing unchecked towards the second Bundesliga. The frighteningly harmless Berliners had to accept their fifth defeat in a row in the 0:2 (0:1) in the basement duel at Borussia Mönchengladbach and fell back to relegation place 17. Coach Tayfun Korkut is threatened with being thrown out after the tenth competitive game without a win this year. Sports director Fredi Bobic had demanded at least one point before the match.
Gladbach made room for themselves in the bottom of the table with goals from Alassane Plea (24th, penalty kick according to video evidence) and Matthias Ginter (59th) and now has a seven-point lead over the relegation place. Coach Adi Hütter, who was infected with the corona virus, can look forward to a few quieter weeks.
Both teams used a back three with a row of four in front, but the system was interpreted very differently. While the wingers Joe Scally and Luca Netz were very high with the hosts, the Berliners withdrew far and acted defensively with a five-man chain.
In front of 30,675 spectators in Borussia Park, only Gladbach initially had chances. Breel Embolo failed with the first shot at Hertha goalkeeper Marcel Lotka (4th), five minutes later the Swiss international hit the post. The Berliners were still deep, the hoped-for needle pricks over the tips Davie Selke and Ishak Belfodil did not materialize. Gladbach continued to storm and missed the next chance through Marcus Thuram (14th).
The Frenchman was also the focus of the next scene. Marc Oliver Kempf fouled Thuram in his own penalty area, referee Florian Badstübner initially allowed play to continue. However, the video assistant Tobias Welz intervened and Plea safely converted the penalty into the lead. Hütter representative Christian Peintinger cheered.
Little came from Hertha even after falling behind, Gladbach stayed on the trigger. Thuram hesitated too long after a counterattack worth seeing (45 + 1). The guests scored their first serious goal through Lucas Tousart (45+3).
Korkut brought in the second half creative player Suat Serdar at the beginning and his team got bolder now. Kempf forced Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer to make a strong save with a header (54′). On the other side, Lotka initially held up brilliantly against Scally (58′), but after the following corner, national player Ginter raised a powerful header. It was a hit for the guests. Only substitute Jurgen Ekkelenkamp caused a goal threat again with a crossbar hit (77th).
