Marcus Thuram(Front) of Moenchengladbach competes during the UEFA Champions League Group B football match between Borussia Moenchangladbach and FC Shakhtar Donetsk in Moenchangladbach, Germany, Nov. 25, 2020. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
BERLIN, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Monchengladbach cemented its top spot in Group B after cruising 4-0 past Shakhtar Donetsk in UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
The Foals staged a powerful performance on home soil and paved the way for all three points with three first-half goals.
Monchengladbach made a bright start and created its first goalscoring opportunity with just five minutes played when Florian Neuhaus' through ball allowed Breel Embolo to test Donetsk goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov.
The hosts dominated the opening period and were rewarded with a penalty as Lars Stindl and Marcus Thuram exchanged passed before Serhiy Kryvtsov felled Thuram inside the box.
Stindl stepped up and sent Pyatov into the wrong corner to break the deadlock in the 17th minute.
Monchengladbach gained momentum and should have doubled its advantage three minutes later, but Embolo's effort only rattled the woodwork.
However, Nico Elvedi cut a better figure in front of goal as the Switzerland international headed home Lars Stindl's corner to the near post with 34 minutes gone.
Things went from bad to worse for Shakhtar before the break, as Monchengladbach made it three through Embolo, who capitalized on a poor clearance from Kryvtsov to score with an overhead kick from close range.
After the restart, Monchengladbach retreated to protect its three-goal lead, but an uninspired Shakhtar failed to create clear-cut chances as Tete and Fernando tried to beat custodian Yann Sommer with long-range efforts.
Despite being the more passive team, it was Monchengladbach who made it 4-0 as Pyatov underestimated Oscar Wendt's free-kick, which crossed the goalline untouched in the 77th minute.
The visitors suddenly increased the pressure, but Sommer was on guard to defuse promising shots from Mykola Matviienko and Tete in the closing stages.
With the victory, Borussia Monchengladbach stay atop the standings in Group B with eight points followed by Real Madrid (7 points), Shakhtar Donetsk (4 points) and Inter Milan (2 points). Enditem
