Borussia Dortmund vs. Gladbach: Winners and Losers from Bundesliga Game

Borussia Dortmund were able to finally overcome a run of five straight defeats in the Bundesliga on Sunday with an impressive 1-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach at the Westfalenstadion. 

In only their third win of what has been an incredibly troublesome league campaign this season, Jurgen Klopp's team put on a dominant performance against a Foals side that many expected to go into the game as favourites. 

Although it was an own goal from the most unlikely of sources that proved vital in the match, Dortmund fans will take confidence from a performance that has shadowed the turn in fortune for their side of late. 

Here are the winners and losers from Sunday's top clash. 

Winner: Gladbach's Impressive Defensive Run

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Although Foals fans will look forward to drawing a close to an unproductive match against Dortmund, their coach will be proud of the fact that his defensive line once again proved its worth against the toughest of foes. 

Dortmund were able to claim the win with the most unfortunate of own goals, meaning neither they nor Bayern Munich have managed to score against Lucien Favre's side in 180 minutes of Bundesliga football. 

Christoph Kramer's goal was only the second that Gladbach have conceded on the road this season, leaving the club with a defensive record that is currently bested only by Bayern in this year's campaign. 

Winner: Dortmund's League Campaign

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

With Sunday's win over the Foals, Klopp's ream now lie just nine points off a possible Champions League spot in the Bundesliga. 

In a league that often offers plenty of solace to any out-of-form team that can turn their form round, Dortmund could now see themselves shoot up the Bundesliga table after such an important and dominant win over Gladbach. 

In the short-term, Dortmund can now cheer their escape from the bottom place in the league—but over the next few weeks, fans and critics alike will expect them to add to these three points. 

Losers: Gladbach Without Granit Xhaka

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

If Gladbach go looking for excuses after their first defeat in the league this season, they would do well to start with the exclusion of midfielder Granit Xhaka from the starting 11 through injury. 

The Swiss box-to-box midfielder picked up a knock against Bayern last week and was desperately missed in midfield today, as the holding pair of Kramer and Havard Nordtveit found themselves chasing black and yellow shadows throughout the match. 

Favre, often regarded as a tactical wizard around Gladbach, got his setup all wrong and simply allowed Dortmund to control the middle of the park (something that may not have been the case if Xhaka had played). 

Winner: Dortmund's Front Line

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

One of the most notable differences about Dortmund on Sunday night was the sheer amount of talent on the pitch and, finally, on the bench for Klopp to play with against Gladbach. 

Yet even among that was the notable inclusion of Marco Reus, Shinji Kagawa and Henrikh Mkhitaryan behind the striker, leading a line with class, technique and a long-unseen amount of talent in the black and yellow colours. 

Reus was, of course, the star of the show against the Foals, yet his build up play with Mkhitaryan and Kagawa was a joy to behold and really should have led to a goal as they seamlessly walked through the Gladbach defence time and time again. 

It should come as no surprise that Dortmund look to have finally turned the corner, now that they've got their key players in attack once again. 

Winner: Dortmund's New-Found Defensive Stability

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Dortmund may have qualified for the next round of the Champions League and turned their Bundesliga form around against the toughest of opponents, but one factor that may get overlooked is their recent defensive run of form. 

Although the club have lost Mats Hummels to injury, they have been able to rely upon Neven Subotic and Sokratis Papastathopoulos at the heart of defence—along with a much-improved Erik Durm and Lukasz Piszczek on either side. 

In the last six matches in all competitions, Klopp's side have only conceded four goals. This may seem rather unspectacular, but for a team that currently hold a -5 goal difference in the Bundesliga it represents a notable change in form and, finally, some progress.