2022 in review: A derby win and a tough period

In our review of 2022, we take another look at the months of September and October. Despite a difficult period for the Foals, there was a fantastic derby win to celebrate at BORUSSIA-PARK.

ON THE PITCH

Borussia suffered their first defeat of the season at home to 1. FSV Mainz 05 (1-0), having previously taken eight points from the first four games under new boss Daniel Farke. That loss was followed by a goalless draw away to then league leaders SC Freiburg. In the next home game, the Foals were excellent as they beat RB Leipzig 3-0. However, Borussia then had to deal with bad injuries to Florian Neuhaus and Ko Itakura. October began badly with a disappointing 5-1 defeat in Bremen, but Farke’s men bounced back in spectacular fashion to win 5-2 at home against 1. FC Köln in the derby. That was to be the last win in October, though. The Foals drew 2-2 in Wolfsburg, lost 3-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt and 2-1 away to Union Berlin. On top of that, second-division side Darmstadt 98 knocked Borussia out of the DFB-Pokal in the second round. To make matters worse, both Yann Sommer and Jonas Hofmann then spent time on the sidelines with injuries too.

STANDOUT MOMENT

Following three consecutive derby defeats, the Foals won 5-2 against 1. FC Köln at home. It was also the club’s 750th Bundesliga win, and a victory that saw them overtake Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga’s all-time table in fifth. “We’re pleased that we could gift our fans such a fantastic win after a somewhat long wait,” said Daniel Farke after his first derby win. Marvin Friedrich put Borussia ahead with his first goal for the club, but the away team were able to equalise quickly. Ramy Bensebaini’s penalty gave the Foals a half-time lead, then captain Lars Stindl made it three after the break. Bensebaini added his second, before Marcus Thuram added a fifth and final goal to restore the three-goal lead that had been cancelled out in between. “This win feels great. It was a brilliant afternoon,” said a delighted Jonas Hofmann following the full-time whistle.

OFF THE PITCH

• Julian Weigl arrived on loan from Benfica, while Jordan Beyer joined Burnley on a season-long loan.
• Lars Stindl and Patrick Herrmann both made landmarks appearances in the game against Eintracht Frankfurt. It was Stindl’s 200th Bundesliga match for the club and Patrick Herrmann’s 400th in all competitions.
• The special exhibition “Verantwortung in Fußballschuhen”(Responsibility in football boots) was opened at the FohlenWelt. The exhibition at the interactive club museum is about the social responsibility VfL and the Borussia family have, as well how the club stands by its values today.
• The Porsche Football Cup took place at BORUSSIA-PARK at the end of September. Borussia’s U15s won the tournament after beating RB Salzburg 1-0 in the final.
• Borussia’s new Performance Centre opened, where the first team and the academy players can work on their fitness and recovery from injuries.
• Around 80 people took part in the 11th edition of the Borussia foundation trophy at the Schloss Myllendonk golf club. 75,000€ was raised for the club’s foundation at the tournament.

QUOTE­

Daniel Farke: “We had a good run at the start of the season, but we’ve unfortunately had a few injuries and are going through a tough period right now. We now need to get stuck in, stand together and fight for every point. We’re capable of putting together a good run of results if everything’s going well and everyone is fit, but we’re not quite able to when that’s not the case - I have to be honest. There’s no doubt that that is where we want Borussia Mönchengladbach to be in the long term. We want to keep improving, step-by-step.”