In search of consistency

There have been losses across the board. Borussia Mönchengladbach suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 29 and had plenty of wounds to lick afterwards. In addition to the three points, the Foals also lost five first team players through injury. Worst hit was attacker Jordan, who suffered a torn muscle in his left thigh and could be out for the season. Also on the list of absentees are Nathan Ngoumou (ankle ligament tear), Stefan Lainer (knee ligament strain), Franck Honorat (knee ligament strain) and Nico Elvedi (knee tendon irritation).

While the two attacking players Jordan and Ngoumou will definitely miss Saturday’s clash with TSG Hoffenheim, Gladbach coach Gerardo Seoane is hoping that one or two of the injured players will be fit to return. Lainer and Elvedi have returned to team training and Honorat is also likely to make a timely recovery. “However, his involvement will only be decided on Friday,” emphasised Seoane, whose team have spent most of the season in the bottom half of the table. Lying in eleventh place in the table as it stands, Borussia are five points clear of the relegation places – not enough to be comfortable without having to look in the rear-view mirror from time to time.

Nothing has been more certain at Borussia Mönchengladbach in recent years than their lack of consistency. The last time Gladbach managed two consecutive wins in the Bundesliga was in April 2021, when a 3-0 win at FC Schalke 04 was backed up with a 2-1 win against SC Freiburg under coach Marco Rose. Since then, three head coaches – Adi Hütter, Daniel Farke and Seoane – have failed to follow up one win with another some 25 times in a row. There was one exception, however: when Hütter had to go into quarantine due to Covid-19 in March 2022, Borussia won twice in a row under assistant coach Christian Peintinger: first 2-0 at home to Hertha BSC, then 2-0 in Bochum.