Monchengladbach vs. Bayern Munich: Winners and Losers from Bundesliga
Borussia Monchengladbach stunned Bayern Munich with a 3-1 victory at Borussia-Park on Saturday.
The Foals handed Pep Guardiola's side their first loss of the Bundesliga campaign, and in the process, they scored the first three second-half goals against Bayern in league play this season.
Oscar Wendt, Lars Stindl and Fabian Johnson found the back of the net for the hosts during a 14-minute stretch in the second half to pull away from the league leaders.
Franck Ribery pulled a late goal back for the visitors, but it wasn't enough to spur a comeback in the final 10 minutes of the match.
Here's a look at our winners and losers from Borussia Monchengladbach's shocking win on Saturday.
Winner: Fabian Johnson
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Fabian Johnson broke free and found space in the buildup to two of the three Gladbach goals at Borussia-Park.
In the 54th minute, the United States international dashed down the left wing and played the ball into the box. When the ball reached the penalty area, Raffael dropped it off to Oscar Wendt, who coolly finished into the right side of the net.
Fourteen minutes later, Johnson raced into acres of space on the right side of the field and slotted home the third goal past Manuel Neuer.
The winger has been a key part of Gladbach's resurgence under Andre Schubert, as he has five goals and two assists since Schubert took over as manager.
Loser: Rafinha
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Rafinha's tentative defending in the box led to Gladbach's first strike in the 54th minute.
As the ball reached the feet of Raffael on the left side of the box, Rafinha backed off the attacker instead of posing a defensive challenge to him.
Thanks to the time and space he had on the ball, Raffael played a pass back to Wendt, who knocked in the shocking opener for the hosts.
Rafinha's lack of effort on Wendt's tally was one of a few examples of poor defending on a rare bad day for Bayern.
Winner: Andre Schubert
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Andre Schubert produced a stroke of managerial genius on Saturday as he set up his squad perfectly to deal with the Bayern attack.
Instead of trotting out his normal 4-4-2 formation, Schubert aligned his team in a 5-4-1 with three center backs patrolling the area in front of the net.
The move was a risk, as Schubert handed 19-year-old Nico Elvedi his full debut against the league leaders. Alongside Andreas Christensen and Havard Nordtveit, Elvedi kept the Bayern forwards in check for 90 minutes on the way to three points.
Saturday's tactical switch was the latest impressive decision from Schubert, whose side have lost just once in all competitions since he took over on September 21.
Loser: Medhi Benatia
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Medhi Benatia's early yellow card may have been a sign of things to come for the defender, as he didn't have the best day at the back for Bayern.
Benatia's biggest error came in the 66th minute, when Lars Stindl bossed him off the ball in the air. Stindl outraced the Bayern center back and scored the second strike of the match for the hosts.
In the buildup to the third Gladbach tally, Benatia and a few other defenders were caught too high up the pitch and allowed Johnson to surge in alone on goal.
Entering the match, Bayern had let in only five goals in the Bundesliga. Gladbach came two goals away from duplicating that total in one match.
Winner: Franck Ribery
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Bayern only took one positive out of the loss to Gladbach on Saturday, and that was the return of Franck Ribery.
The Frenchman entered as a substitute in the 75th minute for Robert Lewandowski, and he scored six minutes later off a brilliant team move on the left side of the box.
Although his goal didn't spark a comeback, Ribery showed Guardiola that he is ready to make an impact right away.
The next step for Ribery will be to impress over an extended period of time on the field. Given his 15-minute performance on Saturday, the Frenchman will get a chance to do that sooner rather than later.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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