ANALYSIS | How Miro Muheim and Albert Grønbæk were catalysts for Hamburg’s 3-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach

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Hamburg finally won again. On a cold Friday night at the Volksparkstadion, they beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1. These three vital points, coming just before the international break, put them on 12 points, three points adrift of Werder Bremen, who occupy a European spot.

HSV also put in an impressive performance throughout the game. Some might argue that the result was influenced by the fact that Gladbach played with 10 men from the 49th minute onwards.

This did indeed impact the game. However, some important moments in the game may have been evident from the outset.

Kou Itakura red card could be predicted from early game 

Kou Itakura’s red card actually seems predictable from the very beginning. The reason is simple. He repeatedly struggled when Albert Grønbæk tried to pass him on the right. Whether it was his own decision or that of the coaching staff, Itakura’s tendency to play as a close defender was only causing him trouble.

The problem is that Itakura is not a fast defender, yet he was playing on the side where HSV were targeting their attack. Unlike Philipp Sander, who played in the centre and used his close proximity and constant pressing to Patson Daka to good effect, Itakura is playing in the right space where his decision to press is not necessarily important.

This was especially the case when they couldn’t find a way to build up play with short passes, as HSV tended to send long passes directly forward, with Daka usually becoming the target. Constant pressing became the right approach. 

With such an aggressive approach, it was only a matter of time before Itakura received his second yellow card after getting his first in the first half. He was sent off after just 49 minutes.

Miro Muheim: the catalyst of HSV’s plan

Miro Muheim’s goal also seemed destined to happen. He has always had a special talent for shooting, but in this game it was his positioning that made the difference.

From the early game, Muheim tried to move around to find the right space in which to receive the ball from his teammates. He always tried to become the free man for HSV.

He moved diagonally (inside or outside) and was constantly looking to become available in the final third, and so it was no surprise when he had the space to unleash his beautiful shot that it put HSV in the lead for the first time in the match.

Alongside Albert Grønbæk, Muheim was also the key to Merlin Polzin’s strategy of overloading HSV’s left side in the second half. This triggered the second goal – not to mention the fact that they were playing with an extra man.

This overload, combined with intelligent diagonal play, was key to HSV’s second goal. This diagonal play was also something that had already been signalled in the first half. The Red Shorts constantly moved the ball from the outside to the inside, especially when they were able to pull Gladbach’s centre-back out wide, opening up space in the half-space.

Albert Grønbæk: HSV’s half-space specialist

For that purpose of diagonal play and exploiting the half-space, Grønbæk was their specialist. He knew exactly how to position himself in the half-space to receive the ball and create opportunities. Their second goal came from a similar situation, with Grønbæk receiving a beautiful diagonal pass from Albert Sambi Lokonga before assisting the homegrown Shafiq Nandja.

What’s more, Grønbæk didn’t look like he was struggling at all when he received the ball while facing his own goal. He could still turn his body quickly, and it was this that caused Itakura to receive a red card.

His combination with Muheim, Sambi Lokonga and wing-back David Møller Wolfe on the left side caused Gladbach a lot of problems. In the second half, coach Melzin emphasised the overload on this side to support them.

Grønbæk later finished the game with a spectacular goal from outside the box, showing not only his shooting ability, but also his ability to contribute to many phases of the game.

He is not a fancy dribbler, but a player who creates opportunities through constant movement, good positioning and involvement in many phases of the game. When he found the space to shoot, it was the combination of these attributes that allowed him to do so.

Better in pressing and finishing, that‘s the take away for Borussia Mönchengladbach

Alexander Blessin is renowned for his ability to inspire his team to press high and play with intensity. Gladbach showed this approach in the first half, with their high press forcing HSV to play long balls frequently.

The problem was that the collective synergy wasn’t always there. This meant that the gap between their first pressing unit and the defensive line was sometimes too big, with the defensive line dropping too deep too quickly. This created a gap between the lines that HSV were able to exploit, which resulted in a goal.

When in the drop structure, the wingers or forward players were sometimes late to track back, so Gladbach were outnumbered. 

These issues are, of course, solvable, as Gladbach have only been training under Blessin for a few weeks and are still in the process of adapting. And if we’re studying Blessin’s previous teams, it will create hope that Gladbach will improve structurally, as his teams were usually strong in collective defence.

Another area that Gladbach still need to work on, at least according to this game, is their finishing. Their goal came from a shot with an expected goal (xG) value of 0.05 (although the small deflection was higher). Meanwhile, they missed two big chances and plenty of other opportunities. If they had finished better, they could have made it 2-2 or even 3-3. 

The return of captain Tim Kleindienst and perhaps Hugo Bolin, who is also injured, could improve their attack. So, once Blessin has a full squad, we will be able to judge Gladbach’s performance fully.

They need to be efficient and minimise unnecessary mistakes, like those made by Itakura against HSV. Their journey to escape the relegation spot will be tougher than before, especially as they need to face Borussia Dortmund, in-form Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen in their next three games.

GGFN | Bergas – reporting from the Volksparkstadion