Breaking the spell instead of breaking down: In Mönchengladbach, VfB earns their first three points of the season through an improved performance, allowing them to approach the upcoming matches against the two Champions League finalists with more ease.
In the end, I don’t want to complain: If the team improves as the game progresses and earns the points deservedly, I prefer that to starting strong, only to drop off just as sharply, as has been the case recently. Still, in the first half on the Lower Rhine, not much came together for the team, apart from Deniz Undav, who smartly pounced to make it 1–0 with a clever finish. Otherwise, we mostly saw what cost us points — and the cup — in the late stages of the games in Leverkusen, Freiburg, and against Mainz: sloppy ball control, poor passes, and a general reluctance to press or engage in duels.
It’s actually inexplicable that the team was again caught off guard by the opponent’s intensity, especially since Gladbach is no longer the unstable unit of last season, as their first few games have indicated. Not to mention that Tim Kleindienst already caused us trouble last year. The equalizer, which also led to a substitution, was clearly coming: once again, an opponent was able to cross the ball without any challenge in VfB’s five-meter box and head it in unopposed.
A Calming Second Half
As disappointing — and, given the upcoming opponents, worrying — as the first half in Mönchengladbach was, the second half was reassuring. Although VfB continued sleepily at first, they gradually took control of the game. The misplaced passes became fewer, ball security increased, and finally, they managed to showcase the quality that is undoubtedly there — in multiple ways. For one, Fabian Rieder demonstrated with two assists, particularly during his slalom run around the referee and opponents, why he plays for the Swiss national team and why he was loaned to VfB. Apart from his strength in set pieces, it was the midfielder’s running and commitment that paved the way to victory. Even if VfB might have been a bit lucky that Jeff Chabot’s push wasn’t penalized.
But Ermedin Demirović, who scored his third goal in as many games, also proved his quality that evening. In Freiburg, he scored with style, and on Saturday afternoon, he showed his composure twice, allowing the debate over transfer fees to temporarily fade into the background after three striker goals in one match. After the goals, Sebastian Hoeneß demonstrated the depth in his squad. Rouault and Zagadou further stabilized the defense upon their returns, and Chris Führich, particularly Enzo Millot, elevated the offensive play in the final stages, with only the post preventing an even bigger win.
Carefree travel
Drawing conclusions from this match for the away trip to the currently best club team in Europe (I still can’t believe I’m writing that) is, of course, difficult. Naturally, the Bundesliga is our bread and butter, and the first win of the season is important for the standings alone. But for that very reason, it also affects our return to the international stage after more than eleven years. The team can now play freely in the Bernabéu, without concerns about a disastrous start to the season, and doesn’t have to worry about that being the narrative going into the Dortmund game on Sunday afternoon.
Of course, we are massive underdogs in Madrid, as expected, and we can’t afford to have a first half like the one in Gladbach. However, I have great confidence that the team, as often seen last season in big games, will be fully focused. And that’s a real asset, despite all the differences in quality. In the last few games, it wasn’t a lack of quality — not even that of Anrie Chase — that cost us points, but rather a general lack of focus. That the defensive options are becoming more varied just in time for the big game is an additional plus.
Hunger for Europe
And yet, this game will be, for us — and by that, I mainly mean the fans — primarily an experience. For the first time in 14 years, our players will walk out to the Champions League anthem; we are playing against the defending champions in their stadium, where we have never played a competitive match before. For the first time in eleven years, we’ve had to book flights, find a place to stay, and, not least, secure tickets. The hunger for European competition has grown immensely over the last decade, and we can finally satisfy it. No matter how the game ends — it will be a pleasure — with the knowledge in the back of our minds of what the team achieved on Saturday in the league.
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