ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Fabian Johnson played a large role in setting up both Borussia Mönchengladbach goals, but departed with a knock shortly before his teammates suffered a shocking late collapse to bow out of Europe with a 4-2 loss away to Champions League group D winners Manchester City on Tuesday night.
The US star was a serious nuisance to the Premier League holders during his 72 minutes of action, particularly in the first half. The Citizens broke the ice on the quarter-hour, only to watch a Johnson drive-and-dish help 'Gladbach pull level four minutes later. The winger raced past three defenders to breach the area before shipping a cross that Lars Stindl slightly touched onward for Julian Korb to fire home from the right channel.
The set-up role was reversed for Johnson on a similar goal play three minutes before halftime, allowing him to notch his second assist from the last two group stage Matchdays. This time, he re-routed a low Oscar Wendt cross that was then dutifully buried by Raffael. It was among seven positive attacking zone passes he completed on the night.
Johnson was seen hobbling a bit after that play, and he would eventually head for an early shower with the Foals still holding that same 2-1 lead. At the time, the visitors appeared set to earn third place in the group and the Europa League parachute that comes with it. However, 'Gladbach leaked three times in the final 10 minutes to suffer a defeat that paired with Sevilla's 1-0 victory over Juventus to dump them entirely out of UEFA competition for the rest of the term.
Switching focus to Bulgarian Cup action, Bjorn Maars Johnsen and Litex Lovech are on to the final four following a 3-0 extra time victory over guests Levski Sofia.
The striker, who worked 78 minutes, was denied on his best chance of the day when the away netminder tipped his drive over shortly after intermission. Johnsen looked sure to notch an assist with a smart area feed near the hour mark, but teammate Dayro Moreno somehow managed to miss the target from the doorstep.
Litex were reduced to 10 men shortly thereafter, but pulled their act together to strike three times in the final 19 minutes of overtime. They will learn their semifinal assignment after this round concludes on Thursday night.
