Gladbach Thrash Dortmund 4-2

Jonas Hofmann scored and assisted twice as Borussia Mönchengladbach recorded a third consecutive home Bundesliga victory over Borussia Dortmund with a 4-2 victory at Borussia Park.

Gladbach, who have now won six of their eight home games so far, with the Bundesliga going into a prolonged winter break after this weekend for the World Cup in Qatar, Dortmund end their year on a low, six points off leaders Bayern Munich.

Mönchengladbach and Dortmund were looking for improved performances following respective mid-week Bundesliga defeats. 

Both sides shipped goals in the opening 10 minutes in their respective losses and Gladbach were the early beneficiaries at Borussia Park this time around when Lars Stindl raced towards the Dortmund penalty area, before playing in Hofmann, who celebrated his Germany World Cup call-up with a low strike past Gregor Kobel.

Desperate to avoid a fifth away defeat in six, Dortmund hit back immediately as Jude Bellingham lifted the ball over the Mönchengladbach defence for Julian Brandt to control and fire past Jan Olschowsky.

Undeterred, Gladbach went straight back on the attack and stunned Dortmund with a quickfire double.

First, Hofmann turned provider with a whipped free-kick that Ramy Bensebaini headed in from close range before Marcus Thuram raced from the halfway line, rounded Kobel and tapped into the net for his 10th Bundesliga goal of the season.

To cap off a blistering first half, BVB defender Nico Schlotterbeck pulled a goal back before HT after he fired in from Olschowsky’s parried save.

There was no let-up early in the second period and Die Fohlen took a huge step towards a fourth home win in five as Kouadio Koné received Hoffmann’s pass on the edge of the Dortmund area and drilled a low strike into the bottom corner.

BVB struggled to get a foothold in the contest as Gladbach remained on top and Hofmann added a fifth before VAR ruled the goal out following a foul in the build-up.

Home form remains key for Daniel Farke’s Gladbach side as their sixth Bundesliga home win in eight has shot Die Fohlen up to seventh place in the standings.

Dortmund’s recent six-match unbeaten run now seems a distant memory following back-to-back league defeats and Edin Terzić’s side are six points off first-placed Bayern Munich heading into the 10-week break.