Borussia Monchengladbach edged up the Bundesliga table after a 2-1 home win over struggling Nurnberg.
Friend pounces on mistake to earn Gladbach the points
Borussia Monchengladbach edged up the Bundesliga table after a 2-1 home win over struggling Nurnberg.
Roberto Colautti gave Gladbach a 27th minute lead before Nurnberg levelled things up just after half-time through Albert Bunjaku.
However, Gladbach claimed all three points courtesy of substitute Rob Friend's 74th minute winner which keeps Nurnberg second from bottom in the standings.
Gladbach surged ahead after 27 minutes when Michael Bradley's long pass tested the pace of Marco Reus, who beat Raphael Schafer to the ball before cutting back for Colautti to sweep home.
Having offered little by way of attacking threat in the opening 45, Nurnberg stunned their opponents two minutes after the break when a lack of concentration in the home defence allowed a weak free-kick to break in the area for Bunjaku, who fired home.
Schafer did well to keep his side the match with a couple of decent saves, but the Nurnberg goalkeeper was culpable for the hosts' winner after 74 minutes as Friend smuggled the ball over the line from close range after Schafer failed to make a decent connection on an attempted punch.
