Gladbach Book Last Champions League Spot with 2-1 Win

Sports

June 27th, 5:53pm

Asharq Al-Awsat

Borussia Moenchengladbach's Jonas Hofmann celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates, following the resumption of play after the outbreak of the coronavirus. (Reuters)

Borussia Moenchengladbach capped a successful season by booking a spot in the Champions League, beating Hertha Berlin 2-1 on the final day to finish fourth in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Jonas Hofmann tapped in after good work from Breel Embolo as Gladbach controlled the game throughout. By the 65th minute they had 17 shots compared to Hertha's one. The hosts also hit the woodwork twice before Embolo turned scorer from a Hofmann assist after he shook off two markers in the 78th. Vedad Ibisevic cut the deficit in stoppage time but could not stop Marco Rose's team from earning their third straight league win and booking their ticket for the hugely lucrative Champions League group stage for the first time since 2016. "We are already looking forward to hearing the (Champions League) anthem, hopefully soon with fans again," said Gladbach defender Christoph Kramer. Clubs are desperate for major cash injections through qualification for Europe's premier club competition after a sharp drop in revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic that shut the Bundesliga for more than two months. All games are currently being played without fans. Gladbach, who had leapfrogged Bayer Leverkusen into fourth place last week, finished on 65 points, two ahead of Leverkusen. The top four teams qualify automatically for the Champions League group stage.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2357741/gladbach-book-last-champions-league-spot-2-1-win