Gladbach 0-2 Borussia Dortmund : Report, Ratings & Reaction as BVB Win But Miss Out on Title

Borussia Dortmund beat Borussia Mönchengladbach at Borussia-Park on Saturday afternoon, but missed out on the Bundesliga title.

The away side needed to win to have a chance of winning the title and did exactly that but their victory was in vain as Bayern won their fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Dortmund started the game slowly, enjoying plenty of possession but lacked a cutting edge in the final third as they failed to hit a shot on target in the first half hour.

They improved as the half went on and made the breakthrough on the stroke of half-time. Marco Reus delivered a cross from the by-line which was pushed by Yann Sommer into the path of Jadon Sancho who blasted the ball in from close range. The goal was checked by VAR to see if the ball had gone out of play before Reus had delivered the cross but was adjudged to have been in play and the goal stood.

Dortmund made a quick start to the second half, keeping Mönchengladbach penned into their own half and they doubled their lead in the 54th minute with an excellent team goal.

For a brief moment when Frankfurt were level with Bayern, Der BVB had hope but the league leaders soon took the lead once again before pulling away for a comfortable victory. Dortmund understandably eased off once they had become aware of Bayern's third goal and proceeded to see out the game comfortably.

Check out our breakdown of the game below.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Key Talking Point

With the defeat Mönchengladbach missed out on Champions League qualification and they will look back with regret on their failure to capitalise on Dortmund's slow start in the first half.

​They had the first big chance of the game in the seventh minute when Ibrahima Traoré cut on to his favoured left left and hit a curling shot which struck the crossbar. 

These fine margins were the difference in the first half and an early goal would have given the home side the impetus in the game.

​Player Ratings

Starting XI: Sommer (5); Beyer (6), Ginter (6), Elvedi (6), Wendt (6); Zakaria (6), Kramer (6), Hofmann (6); Traoré (7)*, Drmic (6), Hazard (6)

Substitutes: Strobl (6), Herrmann (6), Pléa (6)

STAR MAN - Ibrahima Traoré had Mönchengladbach's best chance of the game and was also involved in their other best moments.

 His shot hit the crossbar in the first half a delivered an excellent cross for Nico Elvedi in the closing stages of the first 45 but the defender could only head the ball wide.

With his pace and trickery the winger posed a threat to Dortmund in the first half but was quiet in the second half as the home side tired.

Borussia Dortmund

Key Talking Point

While Dortmund capitalised on some poor defending from Mönchengladbach for the first goal, their second as a thing of beauty.

It was brilliant team goal that has been the hallmark of the Dortmund side this season. Dortmund played their way from the back through Bürki before the ball reached Jadon Sancho on the left flank. 

Sancho played an neat one-two with Mario Götze and drove towards the penalty area before laying the ball out wide to Christian Pulisic who squared the ball for Marco Reus for a tap-in.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Bürki (6); Piszczek (6), Weigl, (6), Akanji (6), Guerreiro (6); Pulisic (7), Witsel (7), Delaney (7);  Reus (7), Sancho (9); Götze (7)

Substitutes: Alcácer (7), Dahoud (N/A), Schmelzer (N/A) 

STAR MAN - Scoring the first goal and being heavily involved in the second, it was yet another brilliant performance form the prodigiously talented Jadon Sancho.

The youngster once again put in a performance of the highest quality, showing excellent pace, trickery and vision to help guide his side to a victory and give themselves a chance of winning the Bundesliga title.

He took his goal brilliantly, showing great composure to give Dortmund the lead whilst showing fantastic decision-making to help create the second goal.

The Englishman has been key to Der BVB's title challenge and they will hope to keep him at the club amidst strong speculation of interest in him from Premier League clubs.

Looking Ahead

Borussia Borussia Mönchengladbach will be disappointed to have missed out on Champions League qualification at final hurdle of the season but can ultimately reflect on what has been a strong campaign. 

They can look forward to European football next season and hope to bring in players in the transfer window to help them reach the top four next time round.

​Borussia Dortmund will hope to put their title disappointment behind them when begin their pre-season tour of the United States with a game against MLS side Seattle Sounders on 18 May.

After leading Bundesliga for large parts of the season this campaign, Der BVB will look back on this season as a missed opportunity.

With the transfer window open, they will hope to keep their promising young talents at the club and recruit more players to help them mount another title challenge next season.