There are moments, even at such an early stage of the season, that have a sense of the pivotal about them. Perhaps Borussia Mönchengladbach and Schalke both had epiphanies of sorts when they met at Borussia Park on Saturday evening. A fixture between two of the pretenders for Champions League places suggested potential, and problems, in the very earliest stages of the race.
Schalke’s difficulties remain startlingly familiar; conceding from set-pieces and counter-attacks are a recurring theme. Yet the home side, going into the match with something to prove, effectively realised plenty of more positive expectations about themselves.
Having scored just once in drawing their opening two fixtures, Gladbach’s anticipated offensive armada had yet to fully emerge. The eureka moment, however, appeared mid-match. Don’t be fooled by the fact that Gladbach were leading at half-time and full-time; the tweak made by coach Lucien Favre at the interval might be something we retrospectively recognise as a watershed in Die Fohlen’s season.
Favre took off Tony Jantschke – who had done little wrong at right-back in the first 45, rating a respectable 7.40 – and brought on Patrick Hermann on the right wing. The attack-minded Fabian Johnson moved into Jantschke’s spot and André Hahn moved from the right to the left.
The fact that 51% of Gladbach’s attacks came down the left might suggest that Hahn made hay and then some but while that is true, his inclination to come in off either flank might hint as to how exactly Favre’s team might attain success during the campaign. While Gladbach had two forwards last season in Raffael and Max Kruse who were prone to drop deep, Hahn now makes it a triumvirate. They are incredibly hard to pick up for their markers, and will trouble better defences than Schalke’s.
Kruse, enjoying a spectacular return from injury to play for the first time this campaign, joined in despite being consistently Gladbach’s furthest forward player. He retreated into the centre circle to play the first-time, no-look pass that set Hahn through on the right for the first-half opener.
While the opening half was encouraging enough for Gladbach, there was the sense that they were playing with the handbrake on. Favre’s switch let them off the leash, and recalled exactly why so many expect his team to be one of the Bundesliga’s prime entertainers this season.
Hermann contributed 2 key passes after joining the fray, to complement Hahn’s 2, Kruse’s 4 and Raffael’s 5 dribbles. Kruse showed the full gamut of his talents, scoring once and providing 2 assists in a display that reminded us of his claims to a place in the Germany squad. All in all, the home side managed an impressive 23 efforts at goal (9 on target) from just 45% of the possession. The interchangeable nature of the trio was clear, with Hahn (6 shots) and Raffael (8) the major contributors despite occupying starting positions as part of the midfield. It was also from a spot around the centre of the pitch that Raffael released Kruse to expertly strike home the decisive third goal.
Yet the team’s tone – a stark contrast from the point rather fortunately prised at Freiburg in the previous match – started from further back. The return of Álvaro Dominguez in central defence helped in terms of dictating tempo and recycling possession quickly to takes advantage of Schalke’s weakness in regrouping. A strong passer, Dominguez enjoyed a pass success rate of 91% (his team’s best) among 63 touches. Only Granit Xhaka and Christoph Kramer touched the ball more.
Kramer, who had been the goalscoring saviour as a substitute in the season opener with Stuttgart, underlined the difference between the two sides on Saturday. While Schalke coach Jens Keller aimed to make his side a little more solid, placing two genuinely defensively-minded players in front of his backline in Marco Höger and Roman Neustädter, Kramer showed them how the job should be done. He made more tackles that the pair combined (5 to their 3), and touched the ball more than either (74 times). Höger and Neustädter didn’t manage an effective clearance between them as Keller’s team were overrun.
For while he may have aimed to make his team more safety-first, changing their nature proved a little more difficult. Christian Fuchs, in an advanced position on the left to presumably stiffen resistance on the flank, instead found himself consistently to be Schalke’s furthest player forward, and thus offering little protection to the returning Dennis Aogo at left-back.
On the theme of repeated mistakes, Höger and Neustädter did exactly what the former had done in tandem with Jan Kirchoff in the last match, against Bayern Munich. Both picked up needless bookings in the first 36 minutes, henceforth restricting their ability to make their presence felt. Kirchoff’s enforced substitution had arguably helped to stem the flow against Bayern. There was no such relief this time.
It got worse once Höger was replaced with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on 63 minutes, with Schalke chasing the game. Kevin Prince Boateng was moved further back but he lacked the discipline to boss the Gladbach front line. He was only able to make 1 tackle.
This was about Gladbach’s strength, though, and Favre’s vision to grab an opportunity, and take the game by the scruff of the neck. That the ebullient Thorgan Hazard – the scorer of 14 for Zulte Waregem in the regular Belgian season last term – was only allowed 7 minutes, with the race well and truly run, underlines the options that the coach has available to him. The daring to use those options is what suggests they could be in for a season to remember.
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