Gladbach vs. Bayern Munich: Winners and Losers from Bundesliga Game
Sunday's clash between Germany's top two teams was anticipated to be an exciting and appealing contest, and viewers were not let down by the spectacle put on by Bayern Munich and Monchengladbach at Borussia-Park.
Although the game ended in a scoreless draw, Bayern and Gladbach played passionate football that was only lacking in goals. Goalkeepers Yann Sommer and especially Manuel Neuer were up for the task, each ensuring his side would not come out the worse in the contest.
Following Sunday's action, B/R reflects upon the play and picks out those who came out the better and worse. Click "Begin Slideshow" for a full analysis.
Winner: Manuel Neuer
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Gladbach played to their strengths and Bayern's weaknesses on Sunday, their game plan quite clearly being to use their superior pace on the counterattack.
Time and time again, the likes of Andre Hahn and Max Kruse broke away from the visitors' defenders—and time and time again, Manuel Neuer was called into action to bail them out.
Fortunately for Bayern and their back line, the German is a titan between the posts. The World Cup-winning stopper was forced into action by Gladbach more times than in any other game this season, but he repeatedly proved unbeatable.
His save from Hahn early in the second half was simply out of this world.
Winner: Christoph Kramer
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Many players approach a match against Bayern Munich with fear. Christoph Kramer was not one of them.
To the contrary, Gladbach's rising superstar midfielder raised his game to the next level, playing with a new level of confidence.
On several occasions, the 23-year-old showed off the "roulette," a new trick in his repertoire made famous by Zinedine Zidane.
Aside from his new moves, the on-loan Leverkusen man was hugely impressive.
He was always in the right place, never stopped running and was constantly willing to stick his leg out to win the ball.
Kramer showed so much power but coupled it with a touch of class, evading Bayern defenders and finding his forwards to begin the counterattack.
The youngster has spent much of his career flying under the radar but that will surely not continue for long. His rise over the last year or so has been absolutely meteoric, and Sunday was just another huge test passed with flying colors.
Winner: Andre Hahn
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At 35.4 km/hr, per the official Bundesliga website, Hahn reached the highest speed among all the Bundesliga's players in the 2013-14 season.
Even though he was unable to create a winner, the 24-year-old's blistering pace made him a nightmare for the Bayern defense on Sunday. He proved to be a much greater threat than just about any the Bavarians have faced in the league this season.
Hahn easily outpaced David Alaba to set up Max Kruse in the first half. After that, the ex-Augsburg man was more closely marked. However, he still managed to get free and was three times pulled back with rugby-style challenges.
Hahn can consider himself unlucky not to have scored the winner (Neuer made an absolutely stunning save), but nonetheless should take plenty of confidence from his performance.
Winner: Lucien Favre
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Although the game ended as a goalless draw, the coaching battle resulted in a victory for Lucien Favre over Pep Guardiola.
The Swiss trainer came up with the perfect plan to counter his opponent, matching Bayern's pressing intensity but proving less viscous as a unit.
Gladbach not only defended deep, they sprung forward whenever they won the ball back with Christoph Kramer and Granit Xhaka immediately finding the lightning-quick Hahn or one of playmaker-striker hybrid duo Raffael and Max Kruse.
Gladbach didn't win the majority of the ball, but they won more than their share of the challenges and arguably had the better of the chances to win the game.
Not bad for a team that came into Sunday's game with two fewer days' rest.
