Matchweek 30 of the Bundesliga commenced with Borussia Mönchengladbach travelling to the Schwarzwald-Stadion to take on Sport-Club Freiburg. With the two teams having met earlier in the campaign and Mönchengladbach taking all three points, both sides had a point to prove with only four games left.
Freiburg lost in their last game at home to Bayer Leverkusen, a game which Leverkusen heavily dominated and one Freiburg failed to find any real momentum to challenge the away side. Freiburg entered this game against Gladbach looking to bounce back from their defeat and cement their place outside the relegation zone. Gladbach were looking to carry on their hot run of form, having beaten Union Berlin in their last game. A win in this game would see Gladbach in a healthy position for the UEFA Champions League places.
This tactical analysis will analyse the tactics used by both teams which saw Freiburg win 1-0 and take all three points from the game. Gladbach’s progression of the ball into the wide areas will be examined, as well as Freiburg’s compactness out of possession and use of central areas to progress through the thirds.
Lineups
Christian Streich set out his Freiburg side in his favoured 4-4-2, a system that became very narrow and compact when out of possession. Alexander Schwolow started in goal, with a back four made up of Christian Günter, Dominique Heintz, Philipp Lienhart and Lukas Kübler. Freiburg’s two central midfielders were Nicolas Höfler and Robin Koch, with Vincenzo Grifo playing on the left and Ronald Sallai on the right. Their two strikers were Gian-Luca Waldschmidt and Lucas Höler.
Marko Rose fielded Gladbach in his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation that saw the full-backs playing very high and wide. Yann Sommer started in goal, with Stefan Lainer, Matthias Ginter, Nico Elvedi and Ramy Bensebaini making up the defence. Gladbach’s double pivots were Florian Neuhaus and Jonas Hofmann, and, in front of them, was Marcus Thuram, Lars Stindl and Patrick Herrmann as the attacking midfield players. Alassane Pléa led the line for Gladbach.
Gladbach’s progression of the ball into wide areas
Throughout the game against Freiburg, Gladbach looked to progress the ball into the wide areas when in the attacking half to isolate the Freiburg’s defensive line and create opportunities to penetrate from these situations. With 20 goals scored this season between Pléa and Thuram, the target from these wide areas was heavily weighted in favour of these two players. Although Gladbach like to play direct and advance through the centre of the pitch, Freiburg’s set up meant they were very compact and narrow, meaning Gladbach could use the wide spaces when in possession.
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