Borussia into DFB-Pokal quarters after 2-1 win at Stuttgart

Borussia Mönchengladbach have reached the DFB-Pokal quarterfinals for the first time since 2016/17 thanks to a 2-1 win away at VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday night.

The Foals made the worst possible start at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, with a Gladbach corner resulting in the opener for Stuttgart. Silas Wamangituka broke away from his own half, twisting and turning past last-ditch challenges, before firing low past Tobias Sippel (2’). The early deficit didn’t stop Borussia from taking control of the half overall and they got their reward on the stroke of half time. Marcus Thuram cut inside onto his left foot on the corner of the penalty box and curled a wonderful strike in off the post to level the scores (45+1’).

Marco Rose’s side carried their momentum into the second half. Stefan Lainer’s through ball allowed Alassane Plea to beat the VfB offside trap and the Frenchman gained the advantage when the on-rushing Fabian Bredlow slipped. Plea still had work to do though and finished exquisitely from a tight angle after rounding the goalkeeper (50’). A hard-fought second 45 ensued, with Borussia digging in defensively to ensure it was a quiet day at the office for Sippel. Nico Elvedi had a late header to wrap up the win, but it didn’t matter that it flew inches past the post, as the Foals held out to secure their place in the DFB-Pokal quarterfinals.

TEAM NEWS

Three players came into the side compared to the team that drew at Union Berlin on the weekend, with Tobias Sippel, Florian Neuhaus and Lars Stindl preferred to Yann Sommer, Denis Zakaria and Hannes Wolf. Only Valentino Lazaro, Rocco Reitz and Joe Scally weren’t options for the matchday squad as they return to full fitness.

MATCH FACTS

Stuttgart: Bredlow – Mavropanos (77’ Klimowicz), Anton, Kempf – Wamangituka (77’ Massimo), Mangala, Endo, Sosa (84’ Coulibaly), Didavi (46’ Förster), Gonzalez – Kalajdzic

Borussia: Sippel – Lainer, Ginter, Elvedi, Bensebaini (71’ Thuram) – Kramer, Neuhaus,– Hofmann (84’ Zakaria), Stindl (84’ Wolf), Thuram – Plea (63’ Embolo)

Goals: 1-0 Wamangituka (2’), 1-1 Thuram (45+1’), 1-2 Plea (50’)

Yellow cards: Mavropanos, Gonzalez, Anton – Bensebaini, Stindl

Referee: Daniel Siebert (Berlin)

Attendance: 0