Borussia Mönchengladbach need huge performance from Thorgan Hazard

Borussia Mönchengladbach are close to falling out of third place in an increasingly competitive top-half of the Bundesliga table, and ahead of their huge Matchday 24 tilt against Bayern Munich, it’s become clear that their performances are tied to Thorgan Hazard’s.

No team in the Bundesliga disappointed more than Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 23. Facing an opponent breathing down their necks in the table, Gladbach dropped more crucial points in an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Wolfsburg.

This loss followed a 1-1 draw against a hobbled Eintracht Frankfurt and a 3-0 loss to Hertha Berlin in which they were thoroughly outclassed by the attacking duo of Davie Selke and Ondrej Duda.

Gladbach’s defense is starting to show serious cracks at the worst possible time, though they remain tied with Borussia Dortmund in second place with 25 goals allowed this season. Defensive miscues doomed them against Wolfsburg and a surprisingly opportunistic Admir Mehmedi, but their inability to get on the scoring sheet for the second time in three games may have been more concerning.

This season, Thorgan Hazard has emerged as one of the top players in the Bundesliga, but he’s been awfully quiet in Gladbach’s last three games. Die Fohlen secured just one point in those crucial contests against fellow top-ten teams, and Hazard was unusually quiet in each of them.

Opposing teams have realized that fouling and frustrating Hazard is key. After putting on an absolute master class in chance creation against an anemic Schalke side to begin February, Hazard has been held without a goal or an assist in his last three games; it’s the first time he’s gone without a goal or assist in three games since the first three contests of this Bundesliga campaign.

Facing the second-placed team in the league, Gladbach desperately need a bounce-back performance from their most important player. Hazard is the key to Gladbach defeating Bayern again, and given their slip and RB Leipzig’s increasingly strong play, this second fixture against Bayern is more important than the first. Additionally, Bayern have looked far more dangerous in 2019, making it all the more important for Hazard to pick up the play.

While Gladbach have other talented attackers like Alassane Plea, who outplayed Hazard in Gladbach’s victory over Die Roten, nobody sets up others quite like Hazard. He is their attacking workhorse and distributor, and this team can only go as far as he does.

Freiburg Go Wild

Though Augsburg pushed their rivals Bayern Munich to their limit on Matchday 22, they were on the losing end of the biggest goal-scoring outburst of Matchday 23. Bundesliga icon Nils Peterson bagged a brace, but it was Vincenzo Grifo who truly stole the show in SC Freiburg’s 5-1 drubbing of a 10-men Augsburg.

Freiburg are safely ahead of Schalke in 13th, with an outside shot at moving into the Bundesliga’s top ten. Grifo added an assist to his goal and has been a revelation for Freiburg since joining on loan. Quite frankly, he’s been their best player, and he played a critical role in Freiburg’s scoring outbursts against Wolfsburg and Augsburg, notching a goal and an assist in both outings.

Jadon Sancho Is Magic

For much of the first half of their game against Bayer Leverkusen, who entered Matchday 23 as the in-form team, Borussia Dortmund were outclassed. They can even consider themselves lucky to have come away with all three points as their title race battle with Bayern Munich gets tighter.

Yet, at the end of the day, it was the quality of individual players on Dortmund that carried them to victory, and nobody has been more instrumental to this side, particularly with captain Marco Reus out, than Jadon Sancho.

Last year, a match like this without Reus would have been a sure-fire loss, but BVB now have a legitimate world-class talent in Sancho who is just as adept at creating moments of magic. His volleyed goal as an immediate response to Kevin Volland’s first-half equalizer was a prime example of this, as Sancho worked himself open in the box before placing a lovely first-time strike into the left corner of Lukas Hradecky’s goal.

Sancho was the liveliest player on a pitch that included an impeccable Julian Brandt and the technically gifted Kai Havertz. He scored, assisted, and outpaced Brandt’s three key passes with four of his own. Performances like this are why Sancho is firmly in the discussion as the Bundesliga’s Player of the Year.

Quick Hits

• Another player who should be firmly in the “Player of the Year” discussion is Frankfurt attacker Sebastien Haller. Though Luka Jovic, Filip Kostic, and Ante Rebic were the goal-scorers in Die Adler’s 3-0 win over bottom-feeders Hannover, Haller showed off his dominance in a different way by winning a whopping 14 aerial duels. Haller is a prolific goal-scorer and chance-creator with 16 goals and 11 assists in all competitions, as he finds ways to contribute in all phases of attacking play.
• Hertha Berlin were one brilliant James Rodriguez corner away from a scoreless draw against Bayern Munich. Had their midfield been more positive with setting up Davie Selke in attack, perhaps they could have matched Bayern. Even though they came up short, 23-year-old Niklas Stark stood out. The Hertha defender provided perfect cover against Franck Ribery on the flank, and Bayern’s reported interest in the versatile Stark should come as no surprise.
• Only the top fifth and sixth-placed teams in the Bundesliga are guaranteed a position in the Europa League, making the Matchday 24 contest behind Frankfurt and Hoffenheim critical in the race for European football in 2019. Hoffenheim are a dangerous side, and Frankfurt have one of the best attacking groups in the world. This should be a thrilling context, and it joins Gladbach vs. Bayern as the two must-see matches next Saturday.