AMSTERDAM – Fabian Johnson and Borussia Mönchengladbach pulled to within two points of second-place in the Bundesliga on Sunday after posting a smash-and-grab 2-1 win away against John Anthony Brooks and Hertha Berlin.
After the teams traded early strikes, Johnson nearly pulled the Foals ahead on two different occasions near the hour mark. First, the left winger fired a 25-yard free kick just wide of the right post, and only a minute later watched Hertha ‘keeper Thomas Kraft smother his shot after he was played through into the box. The US international would eventually leave a tie game with 11 minutes remaining, having completed 36 of 40 passes.
Brooks, meanwhile, went the full 90, but was in no way at fault on Ibrahima Traoré's 85th minute long-range winner. The Hertha center back moved the ball effectively throughout and notched a game-high five interceptions, all of which occurred directly in front of the home side's box.
While 'Gladbach won for the eighth time in their 11-game Bundesliga unbeaten streak, the loss extended Hertha’s winless run to four games, reducing their cushion on the relegation zone to four points with three games remaining.
One league below, Bobby Wood worked 87 minutes up top as Erzgebirge Aue jumped out of the 2.Bundesliga basement thanks to a 3-1 triumph over visiting Karlsruhe.
Wood caused plenty of trouble in the opening minutes, including a volley chance that narrowly missed the target. In the 19th minute, a saving tackle stopped Wood from breaking in alone, but the Karlsruhe defense then immediately gifted Stefan Mugosa the opportunity to bag the first goal. By scoring consecutive home wins for the first time since October, Aue moved into the survival playoff spot, even on points but trailing 15th-place St. Pauli by virtue of the goals scored tiebreaker with three games left.
Also in the 2. Bundesliga, Andrew Wooten came on for the final nine minutes of Sandhausen's 2-2 home draw with Heidenheim. Though winless in three, the 12th-place southerners moved one win away from clinching survival.
Over in the English Premier League, DeAndre Yedlin watched from the Tottenham bench as the hosts fell 1-0 to Manchester City. Despite the loss, sixth-place Spurs stayed a point up on Southampton in the race for the final Europa League invite.
