Gladbach living up to big ambitions | OneFootball

Things are looking up for ambitious Borussia Mönchengladbach

Following a difficult start to the campaign that saw them suffer three defeats in their opening four matches, many may have written off Borussia Mönchengladbach’s chances of a strong 2024/25. However, after steadying the ship, head coach Gerardo Seoane has navigated the Foals into UEFA Champions League qualification contention, and the best may be yet to come…

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Those aforementioned three losses were hardly how Seoane would have wanted to start the campaign, but a closer look indicates that all was not as it seemed. There are few harder tasks in European football right now than a game against Bayer Leverkusen, and only a last-minute Florian Wirtz penalty prevented Gladbach from picking up a point in the season's opening match.

Bochum were dispatched in the following game before back-to-back losses against VfB Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt followed. Like Leverkusen, those two teams are in European competition this season, with the Eagles currently third in the league table after a stellar campaign. Quite frankly, Gladbach could hardly have asked for a more challenging first quartet of fixtures.

What ensued is more indicative of their progress this term. The next seven games produced 14 points and just one defeat as Gladbach moved up to sixth. Although they have since dropped a couple of positions, they have been consistently difficult to beat, besides a three-game January blip. Even than, coming out second best to Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg and Leverkusen is hardly an embarrassment.

In the 23 games since that early loss to Frankfurt, Gladbach have been right up there with the best in the league. Their record in that time puts them in joint-third with Mainz, having collected 40 points since the end of September. They also have the fourth best defence over that stretch, winning 12, drawing four and losing just seven of their games since Omar Marmoush and Hugo Larsson swooped in and stole three points for the Eagles.

After a disappointing 14th-place finish in 23/24, few would have expected a continental push, but several key players' displays have made that possible.

The pick of the bunch is Tim Kleindienst, who has made Borussia a real offensive force. Only Harry Kane and Patrik Schick have scored more than his 15 goals in the Bundesliga this term, a tally which also makes him the joint-top German goalscorer in Europe’s top five leagues alongside Jonathan Burkardt. The latest two of those strikes came on Matchday 26 in his side’s entertaining 4-2 win away to Werder Bremen, a showing that underlines his continuing rise.

Now something of a Gladbach veteran, Alassane Pléa is always a threat and has chipped in with a healthy 14 goal involvements (10 scored, four assists) while Franck Honorat, Robin Hack and Kevin Stöger have provided the creativity that has allowed Kleindienst – himself with five assists to his name – to be so prolific.

In the middle of the park, the experienced Julian Weigl and summer arrival Phillip Sander have offered stability, and Ko Itakura has been impressive at the heart of a back four flanked by energetic full-backs Luca Netz and Joe Scally.

With seven matchdays remaining, Gladbach have put themselves in a fantastic position, sitting just two points behind fourth-placed Mainz and five behind third-placed Frankfurt. However, they face some tricky fixtures against sides with plenty to play for at either end of the table.

Their next game sees them travel to relegation threatened St. Pauli, with the following games including clashes with fellow European hopefuls Freiburg, Wolfsburg and Dortmund, league leaders Bayern and bottom side Holstein Kiel.

All told, the Foals are heading in the right direction, and having now gelled and become more consistent under Seoane, they're beginning to look like the Gladbach of old again.

One of Germany’s biggest clubs is back on the up, and that can only be a good thing for all concerned.

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