Shoelace offside, Withdrawn Penalty Deny Gladbach Upset Win Over Leipzig
GLADBACH, GERMANY – A marginal offside call and a late overturned penalty decision denied Borussia Mönchengladbach a potential upset victory over RB Leipzig on Saturday, as the match ended in a scoreless draw. The 50,029 spectators witnessed a tightly contested game where Gladbach, despite lacking attacking ideas, frustrated the visitors with a strong defensive performance.
The game saw a return to the bench for national team player Tim kleindienst, recently recovered from injury, mirroring his availability in the previous win against Heidenheim. Despite a spirited second-half push from Gladbach, a goal from Franck Honorat in the 47th minute was disallowed after video review determined he was marginally offside – by the length of a shoelace.
Chances remained scarce throughout the match. Leipzig struggled to break down Gladbach’s defense, with their only real threat in the first half coming from a long-range effort by conrad Harder in the 36th minute. Gladbach, meanwhile, were hampered by inaccuracies in their build-up play.
Late in the game, a penalty awarded to Gladbach was retracted after a VAR review showed that RB Leipzig’s Willi Orban made contact with the ball before fouling Shuto Machino. David raum then hit the inside of the post for Leipzig in the 80th minute,further emphasizing the game’s frustrating stalemate.
The draw leaves both teams seeking more consistent results as the Bundesliga season progresses.
(Source: ntv.de, sue/sid)
