BUNDESLIGA PLAYER RATINGS | Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach – Goals from Julian Brandt Maximilian Beier secure the three points for BVB in a tense game | OneFootball

The final Bundesliga matchday of 2025 kicked off with Borussia Dortmund hosting Borussia Mönchengladbach. 

The hosts were allowed to start the game brightly as Gladbach sat deep, and it would backfire for Eugen Polanski’s side as Julian Brandt would open the scoring with a well-taken volley after he was left unmarked at the backpost. Gladbach slowly grew into the game as the half went on, but struggled to trouble Gregor Kobel away from an attempted flick by Karim Adeyemi, which was pulled off poorly and allowed Gladbach to counter, but Florian Neuhaus’ shot was blocked. 

The second half saw Gladbach take more control of the game, and during this spell, you could see the potential of the type of football that head coach Polanski wants to play with the Gladbach 11, the only problem is that some of the players are not of the quality to play this style at the highest level. What this also showed is that Gladbach lacked a creative spark at times, and this allowed Dortmund to keep them at arm’s length when it came to defending their lead.

As the visitors threw players forward, it opened more space for Dortmund, and they were able to secure the win when Fabio Silva squared the ball to Maximilian Beier, who missed a big chance earlier in the game. who made it 2-0 with the last kick of the game. 

Considering Dortmund’s recent form, this was the best way for them to finish 2025. The question will be, can they use this as a launch pad to help them next year. But this is Dortmund, so there are no certainties, while the effects of the Club World Cup in the summer are still unknown.  

Borussia Dortmund:

Gregor Kobel (5), Niklas Süle (6), Emre Can (5),  Nico Schlotterbeck (5), Julian Ryerson (5), Felix Nmecha (6), Pascal Groß (5), Daniel Svensson (5), Karim Adeyemi (4), Sehrou Guirassy (4), Julian Brandt (6)

Others: Maximilian Beier (6), Carney Chukwuemeka (5), Marcel Sabitzer (5), Yan Couto (-), Fabio Silva (-)

Borussia Mönchengladbach:

Moritz Nicolas (7), Philipp Sander (5), Nico Elvedi (5), Kevin Diks (5), Joe Scally (5), Rocco Reitz (5), Yannik Engelhardt (6), Luca Netz (5), Florian Neuhaus (6), Giovanni Reyna (4), Haris Tabakovic (5)

Others: Grant-Leon Ranos (5), Kevin Stöger (-), Wael Mohya (-), Shuto Machino (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Moritz Nicolas (7)

You can see why clubs from abroad are showing interest in him, Moritz Nicolas showed again that he is one of the best goalkeepers in the league. Several times, the keeper made key saves to keep Gladbach in the game against Dortmund, such as a one-on-one chance against Maxi Beier in the second half.

If Gladbach do lose him soon, it will probably their biggest loss since the injury to Tim Kleindienst. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan