Gladbach Sinks to New Lows as Polanski Pays the Ultimate Price
The first managerial casualty of the Bundesliga season arrived just three matches into the campaign, and few were surprised by the destination. Borussia Mönchengladbach parted ways with head coach Eugen Polanski on Sunday morning following an embarrassing performance at Freiburg. It mirrored the exact timeline of last season when Gladbach dismissed Gerardo Seoane after three games, exposing a club stuck in a repetitive cycle of failure.
Saturday's 5-0 defeat at Freiburg was less a temporary stumble than a complete collapse of tactical structure. Freiburg cruised to a two-goal lead inside the first thirty minutes against a Gladbach back line that offered zero resistance. The hosts controlled the tempo from kickoff, punishing every turnover with ruthless precision.
Adding insult to injury, former Gladbach players executed the damage. Midfielder Yannik Engelhardt scored twice for Freiburg, while defender Matthias Ginter delivered two assists against his old team. Gladbach looked entirely powerless to stop players they had previously failed to retain.
Captain Tim Kleindienst capped off the disaster by abandoning his team before halftime. Having already received an avoidable first-half yellow card, Kleindienst committed another reckless foul to earn a second yellow card and a red. His dismissal left Gladbach chasing shadows for over fifty minutes.
The red card followed an explosive midweek interview where Kleindienst publicly criticized his teammates after letting a 3-1 lead slip against Elversberg. Speaking to ZDF, the striker suggested some players "should watch less TikTok, or whatever" instead of losing focus on the pitch. His words rang hollow as his own lack of discipline compounded Gladbach's humiliation on Saturday.
Polanski's departure carries deep emotional weight for the club. He first joined Gladbach at eight years old, progressed through every youth rank, made his senior debut in 2004, and coached the Under-23 side for three years. He stepped into the first-team job under a year ago to clean up the wreckage left by Seoane's firing.
Polanski reflected on his exit on Sunday morning, expressing regret over the team's downward spiral.
"Borussia Mönchengladbach was and always will be my club. That’s why it hurts so much that things have turned out like this. After successfully avoiding relegation, we made a number of changes for this season. We had high hopes, but we didn’t manage to achieve them. I’m sorry about that. I sincerely hope that Borussia gets back on track very quickly."
Despite his genuine affection for the club, Polanski inherited an underfunded squad stripped of international talent. Five and a half years ago, Gladbach reached the Champions League last 16 under Marco Rose, competing against Manchester City. That squad featured top-tier talent like Yann Sommer, Denis Zakaria, Jonas Hofmann, Marcus Thuram, and Ramy Bensebaini.
Mismanagement of contract renewals shattered that core over subsequent transfer windows. Allowing key players like Thuram and Bensebaini to walk away on free transfers drained millions in squad value without bringing in adequate replacements. Former sporting director Roland Virkus took heavy criticism before transitioning to scouting, leaving current executive Rouven Schröder under intense pressure.
Schröder kept Polanski in the summer out of hope rather than a coherent tactical vision, while his summer recruitment drive has yielded zero immediate return. As detailed in The Guardian's analysis of Gladbach's crisis, the 2.Bundesliga is packed with fallen German giants. Without an immediate structural overhaul, Gladbach risk joining them in the second tier.
Dortmund and Freiburg Stay Perfect While Bayern Edge Past Elversberg
While Gladbach unravel, Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund stand alone at the top of the table as the only clubs with a 100% record through three matches. Dortmund swept aside Paderborn in a 3-0 victory on Saturday afternoon, displaying the composure that Gladbach desperately lack.
Dortmund manager Niko Kovac received a major boost with the return of Nico Schlotterbeck. The central defender made his first appearance of the season after recovering from a preseason injury, immediately restoring balance and aerial authority to the back line.
Up front, Fábio Silva and Serhou Guirassy silenced doubts about their ability to coexist in the same starting lineup. Guirassy unselfishly set up Silva for the opening goal, establishing an effective partnership. Substitute Felix Nmecha sealed the victory late in the second half with two goals, including a spectacular overhead kick.
Dortmund also received encouraging news regarding young Belgian playmaker Konstantinos Karetsas. Following his concerning collapse during midweek Champions League action against Villarreal, Karetsas was cleared to travel to his hometown of Genk. He executed the ceremonial kick-off before Genk faced Gent over the weekend, with club medical staff expecting him to resume group training this week.
Bayern Munich kept pace near the top of the table with a hard-fought away win at Elversberg. Harry Kane scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season in the second half, applying an artful finish to break a tense deadlock. The goal came days after Kane was named among the Ballon d'Or nominees, reinforcing his importance to Bayern's attack.
Elversberg made Bayern work for every yard despite losing their undefeated record. Former Bayern product Maurice Krattenmacher scored a brilliant equalizer for the hosts, giving Elversberg hope of pulling off an upset.
Elversberg goalkeeper Nicolas Kristof praised his team's aggressive tactical mindset after the final whistle.
"We played bravely from the back. We can be proud of how we performed today."
Tactical Stumbles and Rescue Acts in Leverkusen, Leipzig, and Köln
Bayer Leverkusen experienced another frustrating afternoon, surrendering a halftime lead to draw 2-2 at Augsburg. Michael Gregoritsch scored twice for the hosts to become Augsburg's all-time top scorer in the Bundesliga, exposing persistent lapses in Leverkusen's defensive focus.
Patrik Schlick saved Carles Martínez from a second consecutive away loss by scoring a spectacular rabona finish in the penultimate minute of normal time. Schlick's inventive strike rescued a point, but it did little to mask Leverkusen's underlying issues.
Sporting director Simon Rolfes publicly criticized the coaching staff after the match. Rolfes insisted it was "absolutely the coach's job" to demand "concentration and fighting spirit in every situation," sending a clear warning to Martínez about the team's mental drop-offs.
RB Leipzig rebounded from a difficult week by earning a comfortable Sunday afternoon victory over Hamburg. Following a heavy Champions League defeat at Como and a domestic loss to Werder Bremen, Martin Demichelis needed a commanding performance to stabilize his squad.
Christopher Nkunku provided the spark, scoring his first goal since returning to the club. Hamburg offered little resistance and look set for a difficult season, though coach Merlin Polzin's pending contract extension is not expected to be endangered by the result.
In Köln, Werder Bremen salvaged a 1-1 draw thanks to the continued form of Niclas Füllkrug. The striker, currently on loan from West Ham, scored his second goal in two matches to erase Köln's lead.
Bremen head coach Daniel Thioune expressed delight with Füllkrug's leadership and immediate impact on the squad.
"You can see that he leads by example as a player. That’s what we’ve been missing. His connection with the club is very strong."
Schalke End a 1,203-Day Top-Flight Drought at Union Berlin
Schalke 04 celebrated one of their most significant results in recent memory, securing a 1-0 victory over Union Berlin. Building on the defensive grit they displayed against Bayern Munich last week, Schalke collected their first top-flight win in nearly three and a half years.
Robin Gosens scored the match-winner in the first half with a clean volley into the net. The strike marked Schalke's first Bundesliga goal in 1,203 days, triggering emotional celebrations among the traveling supporters.
Schalke head coach Miron Muslic had promised before kickoff that the match would be "no beauty contest," and his players embraced that physical reality. A disciplined defensive block combined with key saves from Loris Karius preserved the clean sheet under heavy late pressure.
The defeat leaves Union Berlin manager Mauro Lustrinelli with mounting questions about his team's offensive bluntness. Union controlled possession in the second half but failed to break down Schalke's organized low block.
Matchweek 3 demonstrated the sharp contrast between stable clubs and those suffering from organizational drift. While Dortmund and Freiburg build momentum behind tactical clarity, Gladbach enter an emergency coaching search with a squad ill-equipped for a relegation dogfight. Unless Rouven Schröder installs a clear tactical identity quickly, Gladbach's long decline could end in catastrophic fashion.
