Eintracht Frankfurt – Borussia Mönchengladbach: Gladbach Punish Unbalanced Frankfurt (1-3)

Mönchengladbach did not miss a beat as they strolled past a disorganized Eintracht Frankfurt. Gladbach constantly adjusted their shape in the buildup, scoring twice inside the first seven minutes. Frankfurt manager Adi Hütter tried to adapt a couple of times, but to no avail. This result moves Gladbach up to the third spot in the Bundesliga table, as they continue to put pressure on the title contenders. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker.

Frankfurt have gone through an underwhelming season in comparison to the top four challenge and Europa League campaign they had built in 2018/19. Sitting in twelfth position, they have scored nine goals fewer and conceded eleven more in the process compared to last season. 

Hütter binned the 3-5-2 formation, which his team had grown accustomed to for so long, due to the instability in defense, as well as a lack of ball progression coming from the midfielders. Since then, Adi Hütter has deployed either a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-2-3-1 shape; both have looked suspect due to the space behind the midfield line that is left open when they are pressing the opponent. Despite all this, Frankfurt remain a direct team, whose creativity is heavily reliant on crosses.

Gladbach’s evolution into one of the Bundesliga’s most exuberant teams was ahead of schedule; but Marco Rose has managed to keep his team firmly in the title discussion. They have conceded just fourteen expected goals The amount of goals a team is expected . . .