“Better to lose 0-5 once than 0-1 five times.”

Borussia Mönchengladbach trainer Daniel Farke sought to lend his players a supportive tone following Saturday night’s 1-5 shellacking. 

It’s been a case of extremes for Borussia Mönchengladbach on the respective sides of the international break. Daniel Farke’s BMG went from the ecstasy of dismantling RB Leipzig on the 2022/23 Bundesliga’s seventh matchday to the agony of a humiliating 1-5 defeat to newly promoted SV Werder Bremen last night.
In his post-match interview, Farke spoke of “properly interpreting the events”. The 45-year-old emphasized that he had been in the business of football for quite some time and, as a result, had seen how a team can sometimes struggle when coming back from the international break.

“We had many players who returned late after international matches,” Farke stressed, “It’s not so easy. We also had some recent issues that didn’t help us. Nico Elvedi played with a broken nose, Yann Sommer was nauseous sick yesterday and Ramy Bensebaini has ankle problems.”

Farke quickly made sure to note he wasn’t making excuses.

“When I list it like that, it sounds like I’m feeling sorry for myself,” Farke noted, “The fact is that, when the guys play, they have to deliver. If they don’t, I have no business putting them on the pitch.”

Farke also made sure to give Ramy Bensebaini his specific backing. Despite the fact that the Algerian fullback scored a most unfortunate own goal, his coach chalked it off as an aberration. Farke noted that Bensebaini had played “outstandingly” thus far this season and merely had an “off day”.

In general, this was the view Farke seemed to take on the entire team’s performance. For the gaffer, what transpired on Saturday night didn’t totally negate the team’s fine start to the season. Farke unpacked a certain football saying that he admitted was “a bit cheap” in the service of emphasizing that he still believed in his crew.

“As the old adage goes, ‘Better to lose 0-5 once than 0-1 five times.’,” Farke said, “We’ve done well thus far.”

More about the match

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