Three for the lions
January 20, 2012
Head coach Lucien Favre's surprise Bundesliga contenders have stunned the mighty Bayern Munich for the second time this season, beating the Bavarians 3-1 at the Borrusia-Park stadium. Borussia Mönchengladbach, a team that was rock bottom of the German top flight this time last year, now sits second in the Bundesliga title race.
Favre's lions completed a league double against Bayern on Friday night, having also recorded a shock 1-0 win in Munich on the opening day of the season in September. That rearguard action was the catalyst for a remarkable opening half of the season, when Gladbach established themselves as surprise title challengers alongside Bayern, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke. After almost a month's rest in the German league's winter break, Gladbach have started the second half of the season in a similar style.
Expensive goods
Attacking midfield talisman Marco Reus, who is to move to Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season for a fee of 17.5 million euros, opened the scoring on 11 minutes - capitalizing on a blunder from Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to knock the ball into an empty Bayern net. Neuer misplaced a short pass when a long clearance might have been more sensible.
Gladbach went on to control the first half, with 20-year-old winger Patrick Hermann adding a second goal a few minutes before the break. Hermann bagged another after 71 minutes, latching on to a superb pass from Marco Reus. Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger's response five minutes later was little more than a consolation goal.
Despite the defeat, Bayern Munich still sit atop the league; their impressive goal difference means that Borussia Dortmund and Schalke - who could both displace Gladbach with weekend wins - are very unlikely to overtake them.
Schalke play host to Stuttgart on Saturday, while Reus' future club, Dortmund, travel to Hamburg on Sunday.
Author: Mark Hallam
Editor: Chuck Penfold