Hofmann sparkles as Gladbach thrash Dortmund

Gladbach 4-2 Dortmund
Goals: 1-0 Hofmann 4' (assist: Stindl), 1-1 Brandt 19' (assist: Bellingham), 2-1 Bensebaini 26' (assist: Hofmann), 3-1 Thuram 30' (assist: Kone), 3-2 Schlotterbeck (40'), 4-2 Kone 46' (assist: Hofmann)

Having lost at struggling Bochum on Tuesday, Gladbach set about making amends right away and took the lead after just four minutes when Lars Stindl freed Hofmann into space, and the Germany international made no mistake from just inside the box. It set the tone for a non-stop first half as both teams traded blows. Jude Bellingham produced an exquisite assist for Julian Brandt to equalise on the volley, but parity was short-lived as Ramy Bensebaini headed in a Hofmann free-kick from the right. Marcus Thuram put daylight between the teams moments later when he raced on to Kouadio Kone’s pass and sprinted clear of the visiting defence before rounding Gregor Kobel and tapping in. More was to come before the interval when Nico Schlotterbeck pounced on the rebound after Jan Olschowsky had saved a Niklas Süle header, reducing the hosts’ lead once more.

The game continued to flow from end to end in the second half too, with Kone adding his name to the scoresheet within seconds of the restart, collecting Hofmann’s pass and rifling in a low drive from the edge of the box. Thuram should have put the game out of Dortmund’s reach shortly afterwards when he went one-on-one with Kobel again, only to miscue his shot and fire wide. Olschowsky denied substitute Anthony Modeste at close range as the match continued to thrill, before Hofmann had another goal disallowed following a foul on Mats Hummels in the build-up. Thuram missed the target once more when he was allowed through on goal again, but it ultimately mattered little as Gladbach saw the result over the line, moving them to within three points of Dortmund in the standings.

• Hummels made his 400th Bundesliga appearance in this game.
• Thuram netted his 10th league goal of the season here, equalling his personal best from the 2019/20 campaign.
• Hofmann registered his fifth assist of the campaign from a set piece.
• Bensebaini’s fifth goal of 2022/23 makes him the league’s highest-scoring defender.
• Brandt has netted three of his four Bundesliga goals this season away from home.
• Bellingham picked up his second assist of the campaign; his first one also teed up Brandt to score (on Matchday 8 against Cologne).

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Gladbach: Olschowsky - Scally, Friedrich, Elvedi, Bensebaini - Kone (Itakura 88'), Weigl - Hofmann (Netz 90'+4), Kramer (Herrmann 46'), Stindl (c) (Ngoumou 90') - Thuram
Unused subs: Brüll, Lainer, Jantschke, Reitz, Sanches
Out: Neuhaus (knee), Plea (not included), Sippel (muscular), Sommer (ankle), Wolf (shoulder)
Coach: Daniel Farke

Dortmund: Kobel - Süle, Hummels (c) (Papadopoulos 78'), Schlotterbeck (Modeste 59'), Guerreiro - Can (Özcan 59'), Bellingham - Malen (Adeyemi 71'), Brandt, Reyna (Hazard 46') - Moukoko
Unused subs: Meyer, Passlack, Coulibaly, Pasalic
Out: Bynoe-Gittens (shoulder), Dahoud (shoulder), Haller (testicular cancer), Meunier (broken cheekbone), Morey (knee), Reus (ankle), Rothe (knee)
Coach: Edin Terzic