Borussia Mönchengladbach face mentality problems and injury concerns as season draws to a close

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·14 April 2025

Borussia Mönchengladbach face mentality problems and injury concerns as season draws to a close

On the losing end of a weekend Bundesliga fixture against rival European aspirant SC Freiburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach have plenty to be concerned about moving forward. Lead striker Tim Kleindiesnt couldn’t disguise his frustration when speaking to Sky Germany afterwards. In Kleindienst’s view, the team didn’t seem to grasp the reality that their hold on a crucial Europa League qualification place in the table was on the line.

“I don’t know if some people here are becoming complacent with the way the season is going,” Kleindienst said. “We’re letting it slip away and that’s getting on my nerves. Somehow we have a body language as if the season was already over and nothing was at stake. We have something to fight for and should be stepping it up a gear. I’m observing the opposite.“ “Everyone should take a moment to reflect on whether today was enough,” Kleindienst continued. “I’ll do the same myself and I wasn’t enough either. Perhaps even clearer words are needed thatn[after last week’s 1-1 draw] against St. Pauli. I don’t understand. That we’re putting in a performance like this when we should be playing for something.”

Head coach Gerardo Seoane spoke on the team’s mentality and posture at the post match press conference. A journalist referenced one of sporting director Roland Virkus’ quotes in the mixed zone. The BMG personnel chief suggested that Gladbach’s pursuit of Europe for the first time after four tables of mid-table mediocrity left the team “tense” and “stressed”.

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“I don’t think the players are thinking about scenarios,” Seoane answered. “The loss related purely to footballing matters. Bad defending and ball losses aren’t the result of players thinking about Europe. We have no place for such thoughts in the locker room. We focus on our performance. The loss today resulted from technical and tactical reasons.”

In any event, as the Fohlenelf seek to rebound and rekindle the pursuit of Europe, injury concerns are mounting. The loss of attacker Nathan Ngoumou for the season was confirmed last week. Defender Nico Elvedi had to exit proceedings injured on Saturday.

Versatile midfield specialists Rocco Reitz (muscular issues) and Philipp Sander (vascular problems stemming from an infection) were both unavailable for Saturday’s fixture. It remains unclear if either one will be back in time to face Borussia Dortmund next Easter Sunday.

The double-six duo of Florian Neuhaus and Julian Weigl – which had drawn praise earlier this season – performed very poorly in the loss against Freiburg. Virkus declared himself unimpressed with the work of the two German Internationals in his post match comments.

“We lack a profile in midfield that we might need in a game like this,” Virkus said. “We the bite and aggressiveness to win balls [in midfield].”

GGFN | Peter Weis