Bundesliga 2019/20: Borussia Monchengladbach vs Eintracht Frankfurt – tactical analysis

Borussia Monchengladbach welcomed Eintracht Frankfurt to the Borussia-Park on Sunday for a game which would have seen Frankfurt leapfrog their rivals in the league should they have upset the odds and got an impressive away victory. However, Mönchengladbach continued their excellent form this season and recorded a 4-2 victory, putting them at the top of the Bundesliga with 19 points from their first 9 games. This tactical analysis gives an in-depth analysis of the tactics used by both teams in this Bundesliga fixture.

Lineups

There were no particular surprises as Marco Rose fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation. Breel Embolo lead the line, with Marcus Thuram and Patrick Hermann playing as attacking wingers either side of him. Denis Zakaria, Florian Neuhaus, and László Bénes operated as a central-midfield three, with Bénes typically sitting in front of his two teammates. In defence, Nico Elvedi partnered Tony Jantschke, whilst Oscar Wendt and the ever-impressive Stefan Lainer occupied the full-back positions.

In the second half, Mönchengladbach allowed Thuram and Hermann to play higher changing their 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3.

Adi Hütter fielded a 3-5-2, looking to use his wing-backs, Danny da Costa and Filip Kostić, to provide the width in attack, whilst also contribute heavily defensively. With Bas Dost out injured, Gonçalo Paciência and Daichi Kamada partnered one another, and Djibril Sow was given the nod in the middle alongside Sebastian Rode and Gelson Fernandes.

Borussia Mönchengladbachs buildup and attacking transitions

Despite Frankfurt ending the game with a greater share of possession, Mönchengladbach dominated the first half, particularly in the first 15 minutes. However, this was as much to do with their patient buildup play, as it was Frankfurts desire to play a lot of long balls, to begin with. In fact, 26% of Frankfurts passes in this first period were long balls.

The pass map below