After the dreary zero number, the players from Borussia Mönchengladbach and Union Berlin sank to the ground in disappointment and endured the whistle concert.
In the 0-0 draw in Gladbach, both cellar children missed the liberation they had hoped for and are unable to get off the ground in the fight against relegation. At least both teams were able to celebrate Cologne’s draw at FSV Mainz two hours later, which at least didn’t make the situation any worse.
“Of course it wasn’t a walk in the park, but that’s not what’s needed at the moment,” said Berlin captain Rani Khedira after the dismal game in Borussia Park in front of 53,723 spectators. With 30 points each, Berlin and Bochum are ahead of Mainz (28), who remain in the relegation relegation zone, ahead of the direct duel next weekend.
Teams feel pressure
Gladbach maintained their four-point lead in 16th place with 32 points without any help of their own. “It was noticeable to the team that they swallowed four goals last week,” said coach Gerardo Seoane, referring to the wild 3:4 the previous week in Hoffenheim. “The overall situation and the result last week influenced the performance.” And it was pretty poor.
Offensively, the Gladbachers were pushed into the defensive after the break, which was far too harmless and found little relief. The fear of losing was clearly noticeable on both teams. “You can tell that the team is feeling the pressure,” said Gladbach’s sports director Nils Schmadtke and said of his team’s game, which was not suitable for the Bundesliga: “Job completed defensively, offensively absolutely capable of improvement.”
In the remaining three games in Bremen, against Frankfurt and in Stuttgart, Borussia has to somehow achieve a four-point lead. Afterwards we will talk about the worrying performance in the second half of the season with twelve points from 14 games and the cup exit at third division club Saarbrücken.
For Union, the situation remains less threatening with two points. However, the Köpenickers now have a great chance of making up ground against Bochum and in Cologne against direct competitors. Union’s problem is scoring goals. In Gladbach, the Berliners only became bolder after the break and had chances against a shockingly weak opponent, some of which were miserably missed. “The goals are coming. I am fully convinced that we will score the necessary goals in the last three games,” said Union coach Nenad Bjelica. But the coach did not reveal where he got his optimism from.
“The team is very solid. We are ready to stay in the league. Together we will manage to stay in the league,” said captain Rani Khedira, also surprisingly confident after the weak game in Gladbach. Union’s fear of losing was also clearly noticeable, at least in the first half.