Yeso The series of ever-new oddities in the work of referees in the Cologne basement is gradually reaching proportions that can compete with big long-running television shows like “Lindenstraße”. In Borussia Mönchengladbach's 1:2 (0:2) draw against Borussia Dortmund, Marcel Sabitzer scored a penalty in the Gladbach goal to make it 1:3, but it was disallowed when the shooter was already cheering and running towards his fans that they celebrated.
Sabitzer later reported that he thought the ball had already been released: “There was a whistle, I heard it one hundred percent, but it probably came from the stands.” Only then did the referees come to the conclusion that the contact, sanctioned as a penalty, between the Mönchengladbach goalkeeper, Jonas Omlin, and the Dortmund player, Karim Adeyemi, was not a foul at all.
This was not only strange, but also irritating, because the referee Florian Badstübner, by his position on the field and his posture, gave the impression that the test had ended and nothing stood in the way of its execution. In the end, Sabitzer, who also scored the two legal goals for BVB, had no reason to be angry. “We laughed for a moment because this had never happened before,” he said, and was happy about a hard-fought away victory.
Coach Nico Schlotterbeck
“It was an extremely intense match for us,” said Dortmund coach Edin Terzic. “We accepted the fight and defended with great passion.” After a yellow and red card against Karim Adeyemi, BVB was outnumbered for more than 40 minutes. This constellation resulted in a very exciting final phase. Gladbach fought to tie and in added time Tomas Cvancara had two good opportunities to make it 2-2 (90+1, 90+2).
At first it seemed that BVB would have to invest much less to get these three important points in the fight for participation in the next season of the Champions League. After all, half an hour after Sabitzer's goals they had a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Both goals were set up by Nico Schlotterbeck: first the defender put a long ball into the area, where the Austrian colleague managed to hit it with a powerful left foot into the far corner (22nd). And six minutes later, Nathan Ngomou stepped on Schlotterbeck's foot in the box and Sabitzer safely converted the next penalty.
The Dortmund coaching staff seemed to have done everything right with the massive intervention in the starting eleven between the two big quarter-final matches against Atlético de Madrid. Niclas Füllkrug, Mats Hummels, Julian Ryerson and captain Emre Can initially sat on the bench.
Jadon Sancho was also missing due to a gastrointestinal infection. And then Dortmund had to replace Sébastien Haller (9th) from the start, who suffered an old foot injury during a duel with Nico Elvedi that prevented the striker from playing football for a long time after the winter break.
But the plan seemed to work well. Julian Brandt was in great form, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who was substituted at half-time due to back problems, also delighted the BVB fans with some good actions, while the Gladbachers initially performed as they have often done this season : not at all bad. , but a little boring.
Perhaps this general picture led Dortmund, feeling superior and with a comfortable two-goal lead, to reduce their commitment too soon. In the 36th minute, after a corner kick, Gladbach defender Maximilian Wöber left a lot of space; The Austrian headed the ball from eight meters away from all the rivals and made it 1-2.
This brought Mönchengladbach back into the game and the resistance became increasingly stronger in the second half. “It wasn't a question of will, we were there,” said goalkeeper Omlin. What was missing, however, was the brilliant idea in the attacking third, after Adeyemi was sent off after an intentional tactical foul on Wöber (55th).
The action really bothered Terzic. “We addressed exactly these situations,” stated the coach, and Adeyemi also quickly showed regret: “He apologized to the team,” reported Terzic, who may be delighted with the three points. But the plan to save as much energy as possible this afternoon ahead of Tuesday's complicated match against Atlético de Madrid did not work.