Another convincing home victory

Pál Dárdai made one change from the draw against Wolfsburg last time out, with Fabian Lustenberger replacing the injured Jordan Torunarigha. Borussia Mönchengladbach were unchanged after last week’s home win against Schalke 04.

The first good chance came for the visitors, when Hazard made his way into the box from the left but put his shot wide of the post. At the opposite end, the Blue-Whites almost went ahead when Javairo Dilrosun broke into the Gladbach penalty box and squared to Ondrej Duda, who unfortunately couldn’t convert the chance. After this end-to-end start, the game quietened down a bit, but Hertha reamained the more active team. The next big chance fell to Dárdai’s men, when Salomon Kalou missed Valentino Lazaro’s cross by a hair’s breadth. BSC tasted blood at this point and kept putting the pressure on Die Fohlen, but were stopped dead in their tracks when Gladbach won a penalty in the 29^th minute, which Hazard put away. It was a short-lived lead for the guests, however, as just minutes later Vedad Ibisevic headed in Marvin Plattenhardt’s cross for the equaliser. The Blue-Whites were on top again at this point, and capitalised on their dominance just three minutes after, equalising through Lazaro’s well-placed header which gave them the lead going into the break.

The hosts kept at it in the second half. Despite Gladbach’s efforts to get back into the game, Hertha stayed firm and kept looking to play on the counter. This approach got them their third goal, when Salomon Kalou broke and made a great run down the pitch, teeing up Ibisevic for his second of the match. The game was far from over, however, as Plea got a goal back for Die Fohlen just four minutes later to keep their hopes alive. Hertha ramped up the pressure again though, with Niklas Stark first hitting the post before Ondrej Duda finally put the game to bed with his fourth goal of the season, a deserved win for Dárdai’s team.

Hertha temporarily climbed to the top of the table with their third win in four games, but are now second after Bayern Munich beat Schalke 04 in the evening kickoff. On Tuesday, Dárdai’s squad will be in action again when they play Werder Bremen away (Kickoff 18:30 CEST).