Bundesliga: Stieler spoils Rose master class

It was a four-goal thriller befitting of the absorbing title race that RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach are embroiled in this season. Both sides had to settle for a share of the spoils in the 2-2 draw, but while Leipzig’s failure to win saw Bayern claim top spot, Gladbach’s performance was robbed of a fitting narrative. 

Keen to avoid the same fate as in their 3-1 loss to Leipzig on Matchday 3, Marco Rose tweaked his tactics to nullify Leipzig's threat with Denis Zakaria dropping into the heart of a three-man backline. Despite only filling that role once previously this season against Borussia Dortmund, the Swiss international adeptly took Timo Werner out of the game as part of a stifling first 45 minutes for Gladbach. 

The opening goal would have been the envy of Rose’s counterpart Julian Nagelsmann. Marcus Thuram steamed down the right wing, danced past Dayot Upamecano before sparking a neck-snapping sequence of passes that culminated in Oscar Wendt teeing up Alassane Plea to break the deadlock. It was a passage of first-rate one-touch football that made spectators of Leipzig’s remaining defenders.

Gladbach were throwing Leipzig off their game just as Frankfurt had done the previous weekend, a fact underlined by the success of their courageous high press and the countless sloppy passes it forced out of a normally razor-sharp side. One such pass from Lukas Klostermann presented Florian Neuhaus with the chance to produce a perfectly placed first-time ball to Jonas Hofmann, who dropped the shoulder before slotting past Gulacsi to make it 2-0.

"Above all I want to say how proud I am of my guys for the performance they put in from start to finish - the first half performance was very, very good," said Rose after the game. Swaggering, clinical Gladbach were worthy of their lead having made Leipzig look uncharacteristically vulnerable. That was still the case even when a freak mishap involving Yann Sommer and Zakaria gifted half-time substitute Patrick Schick a goal to halve the deficit.

Game-changing decisions

Unfortunately the narrative for Saturday’s showdown is not predicated by Rose’s incredible learning curve against Leipzig and the tactical master class it produced against the Bundesliga leaders. Instead, it revolves around the 61st minute.

Alassane Plea, displeased about having not received a free kick after a heavy challenge from Marcel Sabitzer, received two yellow cards for dissent in such quick succession that referee Tobias Stieler could have been mistaken for a blackjack dealer. 

"There’s not much to discuss," referee Stieler told Sky after the game. "The player wanted a free-kick, he didn’t get it. Then he was waving wildly. He got a yellow card which he didn’t accept as he continued to make inappropriate gestures that showed no respect, so he received a second yellow."

Steieler admitted the second off was "a result of the stricter rules" that came into effect during the winter break regarding player conduct and stood by his decision on the grounds that "the behavior was unacceptable and has no role model function for football."

Sommer called for more "tact", while goalscorer Hofmann highlighted it as "the game-changing moment" as Leipzig pushed to capitalize on their numerical advantage. Ultimately it took a bullet from outside the box by Christoper Nkunku to beat Sommer a second time, which stands as testament to Gladbach’s resilient display in adverse circumstances.

"What should I say [about the sending off]?," said Rose when asked for his opinion after the game. "I’d rather say absolutely nothing to the situation. I think everyone will have their opinions and their thoughts on what happened. With 10-men it was very difficult. We executed our game plan, we played exceptionally, but we’re only going home with a point. It’s a tough one to swallow."

Rose’s feelings will be shared by the Gladbach fans, who will rue the blemish on a breath-taking performance that stemmed from the overeactions from Plea and Stieler. The fixture had been billed in part as a meeting of tactical grand masters and a key takeaway is that until the course of the game was so decisively altered, it was Rose who had held Nagelsmann in check.