Tabakovic shines as Borussia Monchengladbach snatch late victory over Dortmund

Dortmund arrived late which caused a 10-minute delay to the start although the initial play barely justified the hold-up with a blocked attempt by Kevin Stöger being the sole effort on goal at the outset.

The opening shot on target arrived after 20 minutes as Joe Scally connected well from outside the area yet Gregor Kobel proved solid in the Dortmund net. Just five minutes on Kobel was outdone by a fine Nico Elvedi volley off a set piece but an offside call was no real shock.

With relegation not yet sealed Die Fohlen maintained their push even if carving open chances proved tough as Haris Tabakovic saw a near-post shot stopped by Kobel following solid involvement from Scally.

The home side were oh so close to an earned advantage shortly before half-time when Franck Honorats delivery was nodded just off target by Yannik Engelhardt while the away team at last tested Moritz Nicolas with the last action of the period though Samuele Inacios weak strike captured Dortmunds forward struggles.

Monchengladbach picked up from the interval as before Tabakovic fluffed a chance from close range under duress and Stöger fired directly at Kobel from a promising spot but Julian Brandts partial opening hinted at improvement for Die Schwarzgelben after the break.

That said it took until a wayward Julian Ryerson shot around the halfway mark for their next attempt of note.

Niko Kovac introduced Fabio Silva hoping for impact and he set up a breakaway with 12 minutes left yet failed to cap the sequence properly.

With five minutes remaining a teasing low ball from Honorat cried out to be converted but Rocco Reitz failed to direct his effort accurately. However Reitz soon proved key in the 90th-minute decider assisting Tabakovic who slotted past Kobel with composure.

Though the linesman flagged for offside at first VAR upheld his position onside granting Monchengladbach the points safety and their initial head-to-head success in seven attempts. Dortmund set for UEFA Champions League duty have now dropped consecutive away fixtures for the first time in 16 months closing their campaign tamely.