Gladbach exit Europe with a whimper
Borussia Mönchengladbach's elimination from the 2020/21 UEFA Champions' League was more or less treated like a forgone conclusion by most German football watchers after the foals fell 0-2 to ManCity in the first leg.
Marco Rose's XI looked especially lethargic as their EPL opponents ensured their seventh consecutive loss and ninth winless match on the trot on Tuesday night.
It did not take long for Pep Guardiola's citizens to get ahead of one of Germany's UCL representatives on Tuesday evening in Budapest. Marco Rose's 4-2-3-1 attempted to apply some early pressure, but the current leaders of the English Premier League generated for more effective chances on the counter in the opening ten minutes.
Marco Rose's XI looked especially lethargic as their EPL opponents ensured their seventh consecutive loss and ninth winless match on the trot on Tuesday night.
City's Phil Foden nearly had the opening goal in the 7th. Center-forward Kevin de Bruyne made absolutely no mistake when Riyad Mahrez gifted him a bit of space inside the penalty area in the 12th. The Belgian international unleashed a biting effort that bulged the back of the net with a little help from the underside of the bar.
Foden skillfully released German international Ilkay Gündogan six minutes later and the national team regular easily dispensed with defenders Nico Elvedi and Matthias Ginter to double the advantage. A 2-0 lead effectively meant that Gladbach needed four goals to have a hope of advancing. The team played very much like a side who's European campaign was over.
Gündoğan and de Bruyne narrowly missed opportunities to extend the lead before the half was out. Breel Embolo came close to scoring as well, but only on Gladbach's first and final push shortly before the break. Guardiola's men pushed Rose's downtrodden foals around with nearly 70 percent possession in the second half. Yann Sommer put in some good work to ensure the scoreline remained where it was.
Rose substitutions Hannes Wolf and Ibrahima Traoré tried their hand at a couple of fairly harmless distance efforts before the match concluded.