The opening stages of this match certainly weren’t for the football purist, as both sides felt each other out without creating any meaningful openings.
A David Raum free-kick that flew yards over the bar was somewhat symptomatic of the struggles facing both sides here, but Leipzig scoring eight of their ten away league goals this season before the break was a stark reminder that Gladbach couldn’t switch off. Leipzig reminded the hosts of that themselves 10 minutes before the break through Conrad Harder, whose wicked drive from 30 yards flashed just wide of the post.
It was Leipzig doing most of the legwork before the break, but they simply couldn’t break down a Gladbach rearguard, which restricted them to potshots from distance.
Yan Diomande proved on the stroke of half-time that shots from range were always unlikely to yield the opener when he blazed an effort so high over the bar that it bypassed the thousands of Gladbach ultras behind the goal.
The first half may have been a drab affair, but the hosts set about making sure that the second was a better spectacle within two minutes of the restart.
Rocco Reitz was the architect, dinking a deft ball over the top for Franck Honorat, whose deflected effort squirmed beneath Peter Gulacsi, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside by VAR.
Leipzig made a double change midway through the second half in a bid to swing the game back in their favour, but their changes didn’t particularly have the desired effect; in fact, quite the opposite.
It was one of Gladbach’s subs who thought they’d made the telling impact when Shuto Machino ghosted into the area and felt he was clipped by Willi Orban.
Referee Timo Gerach agreed at first, but after consulting with the pitchside monitor, reversed his initial decision. The pair traded blows in the closing stages in search of a late winner, but they were forced to settle for a point that does little to boost Gladbach’s European hopes or Leipzig’s unlikely title bid.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach)