In front of a capacity 60,000 crowd at the MHP Arena, VfB delivered another display of free-flowing, attacking football to outclass Borussia Mönchengladbach on the final day of the Bundesliga season.
Guirassy strikes twice
Sebastian Hoeneß’s side took the lead in the 23rd minute, Enzo Millot lifting the ball into the box for Serhou Guirassy to nod home the opener. Guirassy doubled his and VfB’s tally just eight minutes later, sending a left-footed shot into the net via the inside of the post from Atakan Karazor’s pass. The Guinean nearly completed his hat-trick two minutes before the interval, only to be denied by the crossbar.
Jeong and Silas on target
Gladbach made a bright start to the second half, but the hosts soon re-established their grip on proceedings. Jonas Omlin saved Deniz Undav’s ambitious long-range attempt on the hour mark, but Hoeneß’s charges continued to pin their opponents back and wrapped up a comfortable victory through a goal by Wooyeong Jeong (75’) and a sensational Silas effort (83’).
New club record
The win means VfB finish the 2023/24 campaign with a club-record 73 points. It also lifted Hoeneß’s men above Bayern Munich and into second place, much to the delight of the 60,000 VfB fans inside the MHP Arena.
Reaction
Sebastian Hoeneß: “It was important for us to score the first goal. It was an open game, but that goal really got us in the groove. We had to survive some dangerous situations. The third goal was important in terms of securing the win. I don’t have the words to describe what we did after that.”
Fabian Wohlgemuth: “To be honest it’s a shame the season’s over now, but we’ll still try to take some things into the new campaign. Courage, pride, self-confidence and also the assurance we’ve shown in our games – not to mention qualifying for the Champions League. Today we want to celebrate and enjoy this unbelievable season.”
Goals
23rd minute: Guirassy nods home Millot’s perfectly weighted ball to give VfB a 1-0 lead.
31st minute: Karazor finds Guirassy, who turns his marker and sends a superb left-footed strike into the bottom-right corner to double the home side’s advantage.
75th minute: Silas swings in a cross from the right towards the back post, where Jeong slots home VfB’s third.
83rd minute: Silas embarks on a magnificent solo run, skipping past several players before beating the goalkeeper to complete the scoring.