Borussia Dortmund came into Borussia-Park to take on Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga match between two teams vying for top-four finishes. In a match that saw ten yellow cards between the two teams, Dortmund were able to come out on top by the score of 2-1 thanks to goals from Thorgan Hazard and Achraf Hakimi.
This tactical analysis looks to understand the tactics used by Lucien Favre to lead his Dortmund team to victory. There will also be some analysis of the decisions Marco Rose made on behalf of Borussia Mönchengladbach when building a game plan to counter Borussia Dortmund.
Lineups
Both teams played the majority of the match in a 3-4-3, while also resting key players that could have determined the outcome of the match if they were provided more time on the pitch. Borussia Dortmund started the match with almost the entire squad the same as when they faced Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League, with the back three consisting of Dan-Axel Zagadou, Mats Hummels, and Lukasz Piszczek. The midfield remained the same with Axel Witsel and Emre Can paired together in the centre of the pitch. The only change came with the front three, where Julian Brandt started the match in place of Jadon Sancho, who was subbed on in the 66th minute.
Gladbach’s team sheet found them also lining up with three defenders in the back, with Nico Elvedi, Denis Zakaria, and Matthias Ginter starting in the back before Zakaria came off injured after a collision with his goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Florian Neuhaus and Christoph Kramer were paired in the centre of the pitch with Ramy Bensebaini and Stefan Lainer operating on the wings. Lars Stindl, Alassane Pléa, and Jonas Hofmann were the men getting forward, with Hofmann making way for Marcus Thuram in the 65th minute.
