Pléa with another display of individual brilliance for Gladbach in win | OneFootball

It was a day to remember for Alassane Pléa, who scored a hat-trick for Borussia Mönchengladbach in Bremen on Saturday afternoon. It was his second hat-trick in Bremen in his professional career, becoming the second player in Bundesliga history to record two three-goal performances against the same team in the opposing venue (the other was Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who scored his six goals against, coincidentally, Gladbach).

Pléa played very similar to how he did when he was at his best, constantly involved in the play; he brought his goal tally for the current season to nine, just three behind his record in Bundesliga competition (12, from the 2018/19 season).

He started by converting a penalty in the seventh minute, added a second on the right side of the Werder box in the twenty-eighth minute, and finished with a one-on-one attempt, sending the ball past Michael Zetterer in the forty-seventh minute. He then assisted Tim Kleindienst on the goal that confirmed three points for the visitors in the eighty-first minute.

Regarding the performance of the 32-year-old French international, and why he was selected over Kevin Stöger in the CAM position, coach Gerardo Seroane said, “It was a gut feeling - I feel that we have more play between the lines with Pléa there. He played well in Heidenheim following the injury, but had not fully recovered, and thus I did not start him against Mainz, but now he has returned to full strength.”

Julian Weigl, one of the two CDM selections for this match and Gladbach vice-captain, said about the impact Pléa brought to the team, “Lasso (Pléa) showed us today what qualities he brings, and how important he could be for our team. We are fortunate to have him in our ranks; we are also very happy that we are enjoying such frequent successes, but, of course, our focus our focus is to win in front of our supporters again.”

The victory means that Borussia Mönchengladbach move into the seventh spot in the Bundesliga table, two points out of European competition with SC Freiburg holding the Europa UEFA Conference League spot. Pléa and Gladbach will have an opportunity to defeat Freiburg in mid-April; however, their next match is against RB Leipzig, the team above Freiburg with the same amount of points and holding the Europa League spot - that match begins at 15.30 (CET) on Saturday, March 29.