In what looked to be a well-matched game going into kick-off, Borussia Mönchengladbach blew away Hertha BSC with a stunning display to claim a surprise 4-1 win.

Two quick goals get Gladbach going

Unsurprisingly, the game was extremely tight from the start and neither side gave the other a moment to survey the scene on the ball. Hertha had the only real chance in the opening few exchanges, though Yann Sommer was able to deal with Salomon Kalou's headed effort.

That all changed, however, when Gladbach took the lead. After Fabian Johnson was halted by Rune Jarstein, Oscar Wendt picked up the scraps and steadied himself before rifling across goal and into the top corner. The Norway stopper was stunned, as were the home fans.

One became two moments later, this time with a lovely move breaking down the Hertha defence. After stealing the ball in midfield, the Foals sped forward and eventually got the ball to Raffael, who shot high and hard past Jarstein. A slight deflection took the ball away from him, though that mattered little to the Brazilian forward.

Foals continue to stride back up the table

The second half produced more of the same, with Gladbach still on top. Things went from bad to worse for Hertha, as Sebastian Langkamp brought down Ibrahima Traore in the area. Tobias Sippel pointed straight to the spot and Granit Xhaka made no mistake from 12 yards, rifling the ball down the middle.

Even though the game was over, Hertha didn't lie down and they forced Yann Sommer into two good saves immediately after the penalty. Alexander Baumjohann did eventually reduce the deficit from the spot, but it was too little too late for the capital club.

That wasn't the end of the scoring either, as Havard Nordtveit heaped further misery on Dardai and his men. Traore and Marvin Schulz combined to allow the Norway international to round off the game in fine fashion.

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About the author
Jonathan Walsh
SoccerSight IFA commentator. VAVEL deputy editor-in-chief/VAVEL Bundesliga editor-in-chief and writer. Email: [email protected]