Borussia Mönchengladbach are just one point off of the top spot in the Bundesliga, while Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund have a chance to go joint top at the weekend thanks to 'Gladbach's 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich. The Bavarians were apparently not ready to play after returning from winter break, as Manuel Neuer and the back line were shocking.
A giveaway by Neuer led to the first goal, though Marco Reus had to do plenty to put his team on the board. Neuer passed the ball directly to Reus in the 11th minute and he finished brilliantly from 35 yards, calmly placing a long shot into the back of a net left empty by Neuer. Gladbach would double their lead in the 41st minute when Mike Hanke played a diagonal through ball to Patrick Herrmann on a counter attack. The Bayern defense was nowhere to be found as Herrmann bared down on goal and finished past Neuer from 12 yards, making it 2-0 at halftime.
Bayern unsurprisingly started the second half looking for a goal, and they did well to control possession. They were undone on the counter once again, however, with Reus and Herrmann combining for a third in the 71st minute.
Reus started the counter with a long run, but it appeared that he was going to slow up play when he stopped outside of the penalty area on the left flank. The Bayern defense apparently thought the same and stood still as Herrmann ran through them. Reus picked him out with a fantastic pass and the 20-year-old Herrmann rounded Neuer easily before placing the ball into the back of the net to make it 3-0.
Bastian Schweinsteiger would grab a goal on a corner kick, punching it in from the center of the box in the 76th, but that would be Bayern's only goal on the day. Marc-Andre ter Stegen had a brilliant game in net, while Mario Gomez didn't see enough of the ball and Arjen Robben was very poor by his standards. Bayern's gap at the top of the table is now gone, and anything but a home win against Wolfsburg next week will be unacceptable.
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