Struggling Brazilian striker Raffael on Sunday scored his first goal of the season to inspire Borussia Moenchengladbach to a 3-0 victory over VfB Stuttgart and knock Bayern Munich off second place in the Bundesliga.
Raffael came off the bench to break the deadlock in a hard-fought game and help lift ’Gladbach into second, two points ahead of champions Bayern.
Against a resilient Stuttgart defense, chances were few and far between for ’Gladbach in the first half, but coach Dieter Hecking’s personnel changes paid off after halftime.
Photo: AFP
Substituted on for Alassane Plea, Raffael missed a gilt-edged opportunity on 68 minutes, slicing a volley wide from point-blank range, but the Brazilian made up for it moments later, nodding in fellow substitute Florian Neuhaus’ cross to break his Bundesliga duck this season.
Neuhaus added a second himself on 77 minutes, sweeping the ball into the bottom corner from close range.
Stuttgart’s day then went from bad to disastrous when Erik Thommy was sent off for a second yellow card and, moments later, Benjamin Pavard turned the ball into his own net to make it 3-0.
“We saw today that we have players who can come off the bench and decide games,” said Hecking, who dismissed suggestions that his team were in the title race. “At the moment, Borussia Dortmund are a long way ahead. If we are two points behind them with two games to go, then you can call us title candidates.”
In the earlier game, relegation-threatened Hannover 96 were left fuming after a controversial penalty decision allowed Daniel Brosinski to rescue a dramatic 1-1 draw for FSV Mainz 05.
Visitors Hannover accused Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta of diving to win the penalty and were furious that the video assistant referee failed to intervene on their behalf.
“It was clearly the wrong decision,” Hannover’s Matthias Ostrzolek told Sky. “Mateta told us himself that he had dived. I said that if he was a real man he would go to the referee and own up.”
Brosinski’s late equalizer left Hannover, who took an early lead through Hendrik Weydandt, second from bottom and doomed them to a 20th consecutive away game without a win.
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