Borussia Mönchengladbach are currently leading the Bundesliga under their new coach Marco Rose.
The Fohlen collected a solid 25 points in their first 11 matches and are four points ahead of RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, and SC Freiburg.
Since the seventh matchday, they sit on top of Germanys major league.
One of the most important players of the team is surely Denis Zakaria.
Even though the Swiss international just scored two goals and assisted once in the first eleven league games, his value gets visible in other aspects of the game.
In this tactical analysis, we’ll look at Denis Zakaria style of play and examine hsi role in Marco Rose’s tactics.
Denis Zakaria Player Profile
Marco Rose already used different systems and formations this season while the tactics stayed mostly the same.
Borussia Mönchengladbach want to build up their attacks from the back with short passes; for that, Zakaria is one of the most important players as well see throughout this analysis.
The Fohlen have mainly played with a back four this season.
Occasionaly, they opted for a double pivot in front of it, when using a 4-2-3-1 formation.
In other matches, they just had one defensive midfielder in front of the four defenders.
Additionally, Mönchengladbach also played with a back three in some games.
Denis Zakaria played every Bundesliga match and was a starter in almost all of them, the exception being the game against Bayer Leverkusen, in which Marco Rose brought on the Swiss in the 69th minute to replace Nico Elvedi.
Zakaria was either the lone defensive midfielder or, for the most part, the left part of the double pivot.
The two images below display both these options.
In either case, he’s important for the Borussia Mönchengladbachs build-up play and tries to support the back four.
Denis Zakaria always tries to create a passing lane to give the defenders a safe option.
Above, the 22-year-old is the only defensive midfielder and runs on the right side of the pitch to provide right-back, Stefan Lainer, a passing option into the centre.
In the second image, hes the left defensive midfielder while Christoph Kramer occupies the right side.
The Swiss positions himself in the free space to receive a pass.
Above, Zakaria is the only defensive midfielder and runs on the right side of the pitch to provide Mönchengladbachs right-back, Stefan Lainer, a passing option into the centre.
Here, Zakaria is the left defensive midfielder while Christoph Kramer is the second one.
The Swiss positions himsel
