PLAYER RATINGS | Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-0 RB Leipzig – The Foals extend unbeaten run to four | OneFootball

Matchday 12 of the Bundesliga season kicked off at Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Borussia-Park as the Foals played host to second placed RB Leipzig.

Both sides came into this one in good form. Gladbach seem to have turned a corner since their early season turmoil, which resulted in the sacking of Gerardo Seoane. Under the guidance of now-permanent head coach Eugen Polanski, Gladbach have won their last four competitive fixtures on the bounce.

The visitors had every reason to be confident of claiming a result in North-Rhein-Westphalia however. Having lost just twice so far this season, Ole Werner’s team sit as the closest challengers to Bayern Munich.

Gladbach remained unchanged from their comprehensive 3-0 victory over Heidenheim. Meanwhile Gladbach made just the one change from last Sunday’s 2-0 home win over Werder Bremen. Assan Ouédraogo suffered a tendon injury in that game and is expected to be out of action until the new year. The talented youngster was replaced in midfield by last week’s fellow goalscorer Xaver Schlager.

The opening stages of the game were quiet on and off the pitch. Supporters in the stands continued their protests over the DFB and DFL’s proposed fan-culture reforms until the clock ticked over 12 minutes.

The first bit of action in front of either goal came as David Raum was caught in an offside position before Conrad Harder poked the ball into Moritz Nicolas’s bottom corner. Leipzig continued to press high and were finding a lot of success through Antonio Nusa and Raum on the left side.

There was little more to report from an extremely quiet and timid first half from both teams, meaning the game was goalless as the half-time whistle blew.

The home side started the brighter in the second period and thought they had broken the deadlock when Franck Honorat was played through by Rocco Reitz on 48 minutes. The Frenchman slid the ball underneath Péter Gulácsi, courtesy of a slight deflection off Raum. Agonisingly for the Foals, though, Honorat was controversially adjudged to have strayed millimetres offside.

Leipzig soon kicked into gear and probably would’ve taken the lead had it not been for a superb block from Nico Elvedi to foil Conrad Harder’s effort on goal.

Moments after entering the fray, Johan Bakayoko whipped in a brilliant cross looking for Harder. The Dane was, however, once again denied by Elvedi. Harder’s confidence seemed to be ever-growing throughout the second half as he looked to surprise Nicolas with a shot from distance, forcing an excellent save from the German stopper.

With little more than 15 minutes to go, Gladbach were awarded a penalty when Willi Orbán looked to win the ball from the feet of Shuto Machino. The referee was sent to the monitor and overturned his decision after judging that the Hungarian defender had won the ball before the contact with Machino.

Leipzig had the best chance of the game as David Raum was played through on goal after overlapping Yan Diomande on the left flank. The German full-back’s effort struck the corner of post and bar, meaning it remained goalless.

Neither side managed to break the deadlock after 97 minutes of action. Gladbach’s winning streak ends but their unbeaten run continues – and they will be satisfied with that. Both sides had their fair share of chances to win the game, but Gladbach will of course feel aggrieved with Honorat’s goal having controversially been disallowed for offside. Leipzig will be frustrated with the draw but in truth did not do enough to deserve anything more than that.

Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-0 RB Leipzig Player Ratings

Borussia Mönchengladbach: Moritz Nicolas (6) – Joe Scally (5), Nico Elvedi (7), Kevin Diks (6), Luca Netz (6) – Jens Castrop (6), Rocco Reitz (6), Yannik Engelhardt (6), Florian Neuhaus (7) – Franck Honorat (7), Haris Tabaković (6)

Others: Shuto Machino (6), Giovanni Reyna (6), Marvin Friedrich (-), Tim Kleindienst (-)

RB Leipzig: Péter Gulácsi (6) – Ridle Baku (6), Castello Lukeba (7), Willi Orbán (7), David Raum (7) – Xaver Schlager (6), Nicolas Seiwald (6), Christoph Baumgartner (5) – Yan Diomande (6), Conrad Harder (6), Antonio Nusa (7)

Others: Johan Bakayoko (6), Ezechiel Banzuzi (6), Tidiam Gomis (-), Lukas Klostermann (-)

GGFN Player of the Match: Willi Orbán (7)

In truth, the player of the match award could have gone to any one of several players tonight. Willi Orbán just takes the cake though, a rock at the heart of the Leipzig defence. Limiting Gladbach’s forwards to very few real chances and making a total of nine defensive contributions (via Fotmob).

GGFN | Harry Good