Borussia Monchengladbach: Where things stand for the Foals at the break | OneFootball

Borussia Monchengladbach’s season appeared to be destined for a date with doom as we headed towards late October. The groundwork laid by Gerardo Seoane over the previous campaigns looked like it was all in vain as one disappointment to another.

A sleeping giant of the Bundesliga had no other choice but to sack the Swiss coach which was accompanied by the resignation of sports director Roland Virkus. Picture an old thoroughbred without an adequate jockey to navigate them around the course. 

Aside from a first-round Pokal triumph and a trio of stalemates against Hamburger SV, Leverkusen and Freiburg; Gladbach slipped to defeat after defeat. Among the most chastening was the 6-4 crushing to Frankfurt and a 4-0 collapse against Bremen. 

However, interim coach Eugen Polanski has brought the Rhineland club back to life with a 4-0 win over St.Pauli and a 3-1 derby triumph over FC Koln – the Polish gaffer is now set retain the job full-time after the November international break having signed a new contract. 

Polanski’s defensive solidity

It took a while for Polanski to discover the best formation for his side, but the lightbulb moment arrived during a 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich. The Foals managed keep the Bavarians scoreless for over an hour even with Jens Castrop’s early red card with one key being the 5-4-1 set-up. 

Dropping Philipp Sander into a more defensive role as part of a three-man backline has enabled this solidity. Partnered with Nico Elvedi and Kevin Diks, Gladbach have bolstered their defensive solidity conceding just one goal from the penalty spot in their last two games. 

Support in attack for the Foals

Prior to much of Polanski’s reign, the Rhineland club largely utilised a 4-2-3-1 set-up which often lacked attacking output. Aside from their tally in the 6-4 defeat to Frankfurt, Gladbach had only scored three goals up until the end of October. 

Once again, tactical tweaks proved beneficial. Typically a winger by trade, the decision to shift Franck Honorat into a more creative central role behind Tabakovic has already paid off. The Bosnian striker now has more support evidenced by his two goals set up by Honorat before the break. 

Confidence with an air of caution

The recent turn in fortunes will have undoubtedly elevated the Gladbach squad but they must precede with caution still. Their upcoming fixtures are so-so given they take on the likes of lowly Heidenheim, Mainz, Wolfsburg and Augsburg amongst tricker fixtures against Leipzig and Dortmund.

Stick to the gameplan clearly laid out by Polanski and things should continue to stabilise at Borussia Park. Solidity at the back and numbers in attack – should they implement this at the Voith Arena on Saturday their rise up the table ought to continue.