Mönchengladbach (dpa) – The 1-1 draw between Borussia Mönchengladbach and FSV Mainz 05 had a winner: Yann Sommer.
It’s hard to imagine the Gladbachers would have stabilized in this difficult season without the Swiss national goalkeeper, who has matured into Europe’s top class. “You have to thank Yann Sommer, who kept us in the game with his extraterrestrial parades,” admitted Gladbach coach Adi Hütter after the fair, but in the end almost a lucky little point in the Bundesliga.
Like an octopus with eight tentacles, Sommer appeared to suck the ball up in the closing stages of the game, capturing the point and ensuring Gladbach remained unbeaten in the third game in a row. “Without Yann Sommer we would have won this game,” said Mainz coach Bo Svensson. Despite the incredibly bad first half of the Rheinhessen, it was not presumptuous, but precise.
Only Gladbach played in the first half, but only scored through Breel Embolo (33rd minute). After the substitution, Mainz came into play by bringing in Jonathan Burkardt and dominated. A game with two completely different halves, only after the break Mainz had more and better chances than Borussia in the first half. But more than the compensation of Karim Onisiwo (73rd) was not possible – because of the summer.
Sommer is humble about himself
It also won the respect of the opponent. “A great summer prevented that today,” Mainz sporting director Martin Schmidt said of his fellow Swiss. With incredible reflexes, the 33-year-old parried Mainz’s shots and headers, sometimes from close range. “I’m glad it worked out,” Sommer said very modestly. In recent months, the goalkeeper has not only been Borussia’s most consistent and thus a bargaining chip for his stumbling side, but has also been the center of international attention.
At last year’s European Championship, Sommer was the penalty shootout hero against France in the round of 16 when he parried against world star Kylian Mbappé. In the quarter-final against Spain, Sommer was by far the better man. His performance for the Swiss national team remained on top, just like in the Bundesliga. No goalkeeper in Germany’s top league has more balls than Sommer.
Without their goalkeeper, Borussia’s concerns and fears would likely be even greater this season than they already are. “We now have three games with seven points and only one goal, that’s a good record,” Sommer said of his side’s situation, which is no longer in acute danger of relegation. Especially thanks to him.
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