An incredible second-half showing from Borussia Mönchengladbach brushed aside Eintracht Frankfurt, in yet another high-scoring Saturday evening offering at the Commerzbank Arena.
After an initial 15 minute period where the teams got a feel for each other and sussed out their respective weaknesses, the goals began to flow. Six goals was the last outcome anyone would have expected, with two similar formations largely canceling each other out.
Raffael and Meier net in the opening period
It was the visitors who went ahead early on, with Raffael grabbing the goal. Lars Stindl's initial effort was brilliantly saved by Lukas Hradecky but the Brazilian forward was on hand to get to the ball first and fire home.
Frankfurt would level fairly quickly, and Alexander Meier would be the man to restore parity. The forward slotted home a penalty after Luc Castaignos was brought down by Yann Sommer, with the Swiss stopper unable to keep out the veteran's resulting spot-kick.
The rest of the half was tight and tense and both calmed down after the openness beforehand. So what followed in the second half was a huge surprise to everyone.
Stellar second-half from the Foals
The game began to turn when young Mo Dahoud struck just six minutes into the second period. His performance would go from strength to strength, though a deflection from David Abraham played a huge part in the ball finding the back of the net from range.
Dahoud then turned provider for Raffael, who finished with aplomb to kill the game off. His replacement, André Hahn, was then free to strike twice late on and heap further misery on the home players and fans.
Another penalty, won by Dahoud's brilliant run and Marco Russ' poor tackle, was confidently dispatched by the former Augsburg forward. The final minute provided one last goal, with Hahn getting on the end of Havard Nordtveit's precise pass and finishing coolly.