Goals from Lars Stindl and André Hahn were enough to seal three important points in a 2-0 win for Borussia Mönchengladbach over Celtic.

Stalemate at the break

The opening exchanges were dominated by the visitors, who were continually trying to feed the ball into Ibrahima Traoré to take advantage of Kieran Tierney's advanced position. However, neither he or André Hahn could make Celtic pay; Kolo Touré was twice the hero with two vital interceptions.

To their credit, Brendan Rodgers' men gave as good as they got and came back into the game straight away. Nir Bitton's free-kick was palmed wide by Yann Sommer, while constant crosses proved a source of concern for the visiting defence when Celtic piled into the Gladbach penalty area.

From there on, though, it was the Foals who had all the play and chances. Traoré had a good, low shot well-saved by Craig Gordon before the former Scotland stopper dived on the rebound before Oscar Wendt could make the most of the loose ball. It was, though, proving to be a tough midfield battle for both sides.

Gladbach ramped up the pressure towards the end of the half, which saw Gordon keep out strong efforts from Jonas Hofmann and Hahn, before another key intervention from Touré prevented Tobias Strobl from making the most of a clever one-two with Stindl. Despite their best efforts, the Foals couldn't grab a goal before the interval.

Breakthrough for Borussia

After coming close on several occasions, the breakthrough final came as Celtic's weary defence made a crucial mistake. Touré was trying to see the ball out but instead Hahn hooked the ball back into play and to the path of Stindl. He took a touched and then hammered the ball through the legs of Gordon at the near post to open the scoring.

Once more, it was Celtic's turn to come back at the Foals. Bitton fired wide again with Moussa Dembélé constantly trying to get in behind and cause problems for Jannik Vestergaard and Nico Elvedi. A high line from the hosts was proving increasingly profitable for Gladbach, though the offside flag would halt Hofmann's charge.

The pressure from the hosts was negated by André Schubert's men and then they pounced on another Touré error. Hahn stole the ball - and a march - on the Ivorian and went through on goal before toe-poking a precise finish past Gordon to seal a 2-0 win and give their chances of qualification renewed hope.

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About the author
Jonathan Walsh
SoccerSight IFA commentator. VAVEL deputy editor-in-chief/VAVEL Bundesliga editor-in-chief and writer. Email: [email protected]