Gladbach clobber Donetsk again to top UCL group
Marco Rose's "fantastische fohlen" collected their second consecutive UEFA Champions League clean sheet on Wednesday.
Germany's surprising UCL success story now rides a two-game tournament winning streak. They edge closer to the knockouts after beating Shaktar Donetsk twice by a combined 10-0 scoreline.
Germany's surprising UCL success story now rides a two-game tournament winning streak. They edge closer to the knockouts after beating Shaktar Donetsk twice by a combined 10-0 scoreline.
| Breel Embolo. | Photo: Borussia Mönchengladbach |
From the onset, it was immediately clear which team would take control of the match. Stindl and Florian Neuhaus pulled the strings in midfield, nearly setting up Embolo twice for the opening goal during the first few minutes. A neat give-and-go between Marcus Thuram and Stindl led to a tactical foul in the 16th minute. The former converted the subsequent penalty kick to put the German representatives ahead 1-0.
Embolo came close to doubling the advantage four minutes later with a strike of the post. Defender Nico Elvedi would eventually convert a Stindl corner in the 34th for the 2-0. Embolo added the third at the stroke of half-time, capitalizing on a poor clearance for a 45+1 strike. This essentially put the game to bed. The visiting Ukrainians never recovered from this sucker punch.
After Gladbach played keep-away for much of the second-half, Plea and Zakaria were introduced with 20 minutes to go. This livened matters up a bit. Oscar Wendt converted a free-kick in the 77th. Thuram and Stindl, still fighting toward the end, missed out on chances to run up the score.
After drawing their first two UCL, Gladbach now sit atop their group with eight points after four rounds.
