Adi Hutter is leaving Borussia Monchengladbach after a single season as head coach.

Hutter joined Gladbach at the start of the 2021-22 campaign following an impressive three-year spell with Eintracht Frankfurt, replacing Marco Rose.

But the Austrian coach struggled to have the same impact at his new club, who looked as though they might be dragged into a Bundesliga relegation battle at one stage.

A sequence of only two wins in 13 matches – including two 6-0 losses but also a victory at Bayern Munich – left Gladbach only four points above the relegation play-off place and five above the bottom two in early March.

However, Hutter and his side turned the season around, losing just one of the remaining nine games and earning twice as many points (18) as they had over that concerning 13-match stretch (nine).

Gladbach finished with a flourish, overturning an early deficit on Saturday's final day to beat Hoffenheim 5-1 for their biggest comeback win since 1997.

But it was not enough to convince either the club or Hutter to continue, with his departure seemingly already agreed and confirmed soon after full-time.

"Borussia and head coach Adi Hutter have mutually agreed to go their separate ways after the end of the 2021-22 season," a short statement read on Gladbach's Twitter page.

"This is the result of the discussions and analyses of the past season that have been conducted over the past few weeks and days."

Gladbach finished in 10th with 45 points, their fewest since 2010-11 (36) when they required the relegation play-off to beat the drop.

Adi Hutter apologised to supporters after his Borussia Monchengladbach team were trounced 6-0 at home by Freiburg, with all six goals coming in a remarkable first half.

High-flying Freiburg became the first team ever in the Bundesliga to score five goals away from home inside the opening 25 minutes of a match, and Gladbach midfielder Patrick Herrmann bemoaned "a catastrophic performance".

Maximilian Eggestein and Kevin Schade put the visitors two up with only five minutes gone, before Philipp Lienhart, Nicolas Hofler, Lucas Holer and Nico Schlotterbeck got in on the act to shock those in attendance at Borussia-Park on Sunday.

Gladbach had previously been the only side to score five goals in the opening 25 minutes of a match, that coming at home to Braunschweig in October 1984.

The loss leaves Gladbach in 13th place in the Bundesliga, with just 18 points from 14 games, and head coach Hutter made clear after the game that it was an unacceptable performance and result.

"I am incredibly disappointed," Hutter told the official club website. "I'm also very sorry for the spectators who made their way to the stadium. We win together and we lose together.

"A few weeks ago, we beat Bayern 5-0 here and we were all over the moon. Today, we saw a match that should never have played out the way it did. Of course, we knew that Freiburg are strong from set-pieces and we prepared for that in training, but I had the feeling that we were paralysed from them.

"I don't have an explanation for that right now. First and foremost, we have to apologise for the way we played today. That is unacceptable. If you saw the level in training, you would never imagine that a performance like that could happen. But then when you're 5-0 down after 25 minutes, it's obviously very disconcerting."

Sporting directer Max Eberl also spoke to the club website, making mention of the Foals' "lethargy", saying: "We conceded two early goals, and you could see how nervy it made everyone. No one wanted the ball, although, to be honest, we didn't have much of the ball in the opening period anyway.

"We just had this inexplicable lethargy and didn't carry a threat at all. I'm a bit bewildered right now. Tomorrow is about picking ourselves back up and digesting the defeat. We conceded four goals in Cologne, and now six today, but we also didn't do enough going forward with enough incisiveness either."

Gladbach's Herrmann simply added: "It's hard to put the game into words. We had already thrown it away after a matter of minutes. We just weren't at the races at all in the first half – it was a catastrophic performance. If you're 4-0 down after 20 minutes and then concede the fifth goal, everyone knows that the game is over."

Where will Kylian Mbappe be playing next season is a question being asked across Europe.

The Paris Saint-Germain star has been tipped to join Real Madrid.

Should Mbappe depart Paris, PSG are reportedly drawing up a list of replacements.

 

TOP STORY – KANE AND SALAH WANTED IN PARIS

Paris Saint-Germain have set their sights on Tottenham forward Harry Kane and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah as possible replacements for Kylian Mbappe, according to Telefoot.

Mbappe has been heavily linked with LaLiga champions Real Madrid, though PSG remain in negotiations over a contract extension.

While PSG are still hopeful, the Ligue 1 holders are eyeing the Premier League should Mbappe leave the French capital.

Kane is reportedly wanted by Manchester United and Manchester City, while Salah has previously been linked with Madrid and Barcelona.

 

ROUND-UP

- Calciomercato reports Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid are chasing Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella. The Sun adds Chelsea are also interested in the Italy star.

Juventus and PSG could exchange Mauro Icardi and Paulo Dybala in a swap deal, says Corriere dello Sport. Icardi's future is up in the air, despite only joining PSG permanently from Inter last year, while countryman Dybala is reportedly nearing an exit.

- AS Diario claims United are keeping tabs on Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres, who has also been linked with neighbours City. United have also been credited with interest in Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, RB Leipzig's Liverpool target Ibrahima Konate as well as Madrid captain Sergio Ramos and team-mate Raphael Varane.

- Eintracht Frankfurt boss Adi Hutter is set to replace outgoing boss Marco Rose at Borussia Monchengladbach, reports Kicker. Rose is poised to take charge of Borussia Dortmund.

Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Adi Hutter hailed the "greatness" of Luka Jovic following his stunning start to life back in the Bundesliga.

Jovic scored two goals in his return for Eintracht last week after re-joining the German club on loan until the end of the season, having endured a difficult period at LaLiga champions Real Madrid.

The Serbia international only scored twice in 32 appearances under Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane in the Spanish capital, where he arrived for €60million in 2019.

But Jovic came off the bench and scored twice in 28 minutes as Eintracht defeated Schalke 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Jovic matched his Madrid tally in the stunning cameo for Eintracht, where the 23-year-old netted 27 goals in 2018-19 before making the move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Previewing Wednesday's showdown with Freiburg, Hutter discussed Jovic and his partnership with Eintracht star Andre Silva.

"Strikers are always a bit egotistical, but when it is about the team or Eintracht Frankfurt, everyone puts their ego aside," Hutter told reporters.

"Luka [Jovic] does that sovereignly. When you bring back someone who had his best time here and scored 27 goals in a year, then gets loaned out and scores two goals in 32 games, and then comes back and scores two goals in about 25 minutes, it's logical that the attention is more on that than on Andre Silva's 12th goal of the season.

"But when you hear Luka's statements that it is an honour for him to play in a team with Andre, it shows the greatness and character of Luka and it shows the respect he has for Andre Silva. I have spoken to Andre before and he said that competition is very important for him and that quality in the team is important. That doesn't bother him at all.

"I also can't imagine that Andre Silva, who has previously played for Milan and Sevilla, can't handle competition. I think he has also seen that Luka is another striker with whom he can harmonise.

"As always, I'm keeping a low profile. He [Luka Jovic] has shown in this short season that he is an absolute world-class striker with a high calibre. We'll leave it open as to whether he'll play from the start [against Freiburg]."

Silva's goal to open the scoring against Schalke was his 12th of the season, taking him level with Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland – only Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski (21) has more in 2020-21.

Eintracht – eighth in the standings – are the only team to win all three of their Bundesliga games in 2021 and have now won four on the bounce in the league for the first time since early 2019.

Luka Jovic revelled in his two-goal return for Eintracht Frankfurt after struggling at LaLiga champions Real Madrid.

Jovic re-joined Eintracht on loan until the end of the season, having endured a difficult start to his Madrid career – the Serbia international only scored twice in 32 appearances under Zinedine Zidane in the Spanish capital, where he arrived for €60million in 2019.

But a return to Frankfurt appears to be the perfect tonic for Jovic, who came off the bench and scored twice in 28 minutes as Eintracht defeated Schalke 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Jovic matched his Madrid tally in the stunning cameo for Eintracht, where the 23-year-old netted 27 goals in 2018-19 before making the move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

"Amazing feeling! Victory, two goals. Couldn't have imagined a better comeback," Jovic wrote via Instagram post-match.

"I hope this is only the beginning and that the best is yet to come. Thank you all for your support.

"I want to dedicate my first goal to a great professional, an amazing leader, a true friend, a great man that I've been honoured to share the field with, our captain @davidabraham1986 [who retired].

"The second goal I dedicate to a great Eintracht fan that has recently passed away and left his loving wife and three kids. Rest In Peace."

Jovic played a key role in Eintracht's remarkable 2018-19 campaign as the German club reached the Europa League semi-finals, after initially being shipped to Deutsche Bank Park in 2017 on a two-year loan deal from Portuguese powerhouse Benfica.

After scoring nine goals in his first season with Eintracht as the team celebrated DFB-Pokal glory, the Bundesliga club's sporting director Fredi Bobic eventually triggered a purchase option reportedly worth €6m in 2019 to sign Jovic before making a significant profit on that investment.

Eintracht head coach Adi Hutter added: "It was incredibly important for Luka to return to where he had his best period and feels happy. You can tell that's been the case from day one.

"For him to score two such lovely goals speaks volumes about his quality. That sort of thing isn't always easy to explain."

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