Bayern 0-3 Mönchengladbach: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Die Fohlen Thrash Bavarians

Borussia Mönchengladbach piled the pressure on Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovač after die Fohlen defeated the Bundesliga holders 3-0 at the Allianz Arena, to condemn the Bavarians to a second consecutive league defeat.

Alassane Pléa curled home to open the scoring for the visitors in the ninth minute before Lars Stindl marked his first league appearance of the season with a precise strike seven minutes later to double their lead.

Bayern thought they had reduced the deficit when Robert Lewandowski had the ball in the net, but his strike was chalked-off for offside, before substitute Patrick Herrmann controversially added a third late-on, as Bayern went four games without a victory in all competitions.

Check out our breakdown of the game below.

BAYERN MUNICH

Key Talking Point

Bayern had seen a lot of the ball but didn't create many clear opportunities. They used the width on the pitch provided by Arjen Robben and David Alaba, but didn't have the composure required to find the net in the first-half, with Thomas Müller latching onto a Robben cross only to be denied by a terrific save from Yann Sommer...and the offside flag.

They were so focused on trying to go in front, they lost concentration at the other end and became complacent, allowing Plea to steal in and give the visitors a shocking lead.

They were caught napping once again when Thiago was dispossessed by Jonas Hofmann, who was able to play the ball into the path of Stindl. The German international was able to subsequently sweep home his side's second goal of the evening. 

The Bavarians improved in the second-half, despite an injury that saw Alaba replaced by Renato Sanches. They did manage to find the back of the net, although it was flagged offside. Lewandowski showed good movement to latch onto Joshua Kimmich's pass and fire home, but he went a fraction too early.

Kovač's men looked out of sorts defensively and late-on they capitulated, allowing substitute Herrmann to sneak into the area unchallenged and fire home, in spite of the ball appearing to strike his arm.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Neuer (6); Kimmich (6), Süle (6), Hummels (6), Alaba (6); Thiago (6); Robben (6), Müller (6), Goretzka (5), Rodríguez (6); Lewandowski (6) 

Substitutes: Sanches (6), Ribéry (6), Gnabry (6)

STAR MAN - Serge Gnabry came on at half-time and made a positive impact. He looked lively, sharp and his pace caused the Mönchengladbach defence a few problems. The former Arsenal man created some good opportunities from out wide and sent a terrific cross that Lewandowski just couldn't make contact with.

WORST PLAYER - Leon Goretzka was incredibly anonymous in the match. It was bizarre to see that Kovač replaced Robben and Müller, who had looked quite bright in the first-half, with Gnabry and Franck Ribéry, while Goretzka remained on the pitch. His only real contributions included a speculative strike from-range that cleared the crossbar and a failed attempt to back-heel the ball to Gnabry.

BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH

Key Talking Point

The visitors started on the back-foot and despite soaking up 65% possession from Bayern in the early stages, they defended well.

They were wary of their opponent's lack of confidence and used that to their advantage, pressing Bayern high up the pitch to force errors. 

Mönchengladbach's pressing was a key component of their game-plan and they executed it perfectly in the 15th minute.

Dieter Hecking's side approached the second-half in a similar manner and went close to a third when Florian Neuhaus fired just wide, following a swift-break after James Rodríguez was intercepted.

They got their third when Christoph Kramer helped-on a corner into the path of substitute Herrmann, who controlled the ball on his chest and arm, before firing home. VAR was used but the goal stood: to sum up die Fohlen's fortunes against their disappointing opponents.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Sommer (6); Lang (6), Ginter (6), Elvedi (6), Wendt (6); Hofmann (7), Kramer (6), Neuhaus (6); Stindl (7), Pléa (7), Hazard (6) 

Substitutes: Zakaria (5), Traoré (N/A), Herrmann (7)

STAR MAN - Hofmann returned to the Mönchengladbach starting lineup, following a one-match absence. If there was any speculation of the midfielder lacking match fitness, he showed no signs of it. 

The midfielder provided two assists in this evening's match, played a nice one-two with Pléa, who curled home. He then put Thiago under-pressure before dispossessing the former Barcelona midfielder and finding Stindl, who fired home. 

WORST PLAYER - It's difficult to name a contender for Mönchengladbach considering their terrific performance against Bayern, but solely based on selfishness, Neuhaus had the opportunity to tee-up Pléa to wrap up the match on the break earlier on, but instead went alone and fired wide.

Looking Ahead

Bayern remain fifth on 13 points and after the international break, they travel to eighth-placed Wolfsburg, who are on a five-match winless run.

The win for Mönchengladbach meant they moved into second on 14 points and went on a three match unbeaten run. They host seventh-placed Mainz, who are winless in four matches.