Gladbach end season with big win as Hoffenheim settle for Europa League spot

Borussia Mönchengladbach ended the season on a high note as they beat ten-man TSG Hoffenheim 4-0. The visitors will return to European football after a fifth-place finish, however.

There was no surprise that the first chance of the game fell to Andrej Kramarić, who had ten goals against Gladbach. However, the Croat attacker wasn’t able to beat Nicolas in a one-on-one chance.

The hosts didn’t need a second invitation, however. January signing Hugo Bolin scored his first goal for the club from a move started with a Joe Scally throw-in. At the midpoint of the half, Gladbach doubled their lead with Haris Tabaković’s 13th strike of the season.

The only good news for Hoffenheim at this point was Patrik Schick’s missed penalty-kick. Meanwhile, Stuttgart were on their way to Champions League qualification as they led Eintracht Frankfurt away from home.

Christian Ilzer’s men struggled to create chances in an uninspired first-half performance. Things got worse only six seconds after the restart as Tim Lemperle saw a second booking for a challenge on Kevin Diks.

The ten-man guests were fortunate not to concede another when Tabaković’s strike was nullified after a brief VAR check for an offside. That third goal came ten minutes before time as Diks netted his first non-penalty goal with a brilliant strike from 25 meters. There was still time for one more as Robin Hack ended an injury-riddled campaign with an injury-time strike.

Gladbach finished the season in 12th place with 38 points. Hoffenheim missed out on the Champions League, but they will be back in Europe as they enter the league phase of the Europa League with a fifth-place finish.