Christoph Kramer is one of the few Bundesliga professionals who is characterized by brutal honesty.

After four heavy defeats - 1: 4 in Cologne, 0: 6 against Freiburg, 1: 4 in Leipzig, 2: 3 against Frankfurt - his Borussia from Mönchengladbach had finally at least once again reached a draw with the strong Hoffenheimers, and yet they looked the 2014 world champion sober on the daily yield.

"If we had won the last four games, I would say that we played really badly today," emphasized the defensive midfielder, who had been back in nine games for the first time in nine games because of a thigh injury, from the perspective of the demanding football specialist. The soccer pragmatist Kramer allowed himself the additional remark that this time it was not about playing well, but about scoring points.

The Rhinelander achieved that in this eventful Bundesliga duel, without being really happy about the daily yield. Embolo's leading goal (35th minute) lasted almost to the end, before Akpoguma, who had recently been substituted on, managed to equalize (90th + 1). An overdue hit, because the Kraichgauer were the better team overall, also because they tirelessly strived for the path to success with playful means. "If we had equalized a little earlier," said Sebastian Hoeneß, TSG 1899 coach, "we would even have had the chance to turn the game around."

Would, would, if and but: That was not the line of argument for the “foals” who finally got back on their feet. Sports director Max Eberl alone complained loudly after the Hoffenheim hit because he believed, a mistake in perception, to have seen a previous foul. Even the very collegial referee Sven Jablonski couldn't help but hold the yellow card in front of Eberl's eyes.

A warning that the Gladbach foreman could get over just as well as his team the draw, which revealed at least as much: Borussia can finally defend itself again after strangely weak weeks. And so the coach Adi Hütter, who was criticized for the series of defeats, assessed the daily yield as positive. “It was a step forward,” stated the Austrian. “If the confidence isn't there, it's not that easy. In the past few weeks we have been accused that the team may not have fought for every inch - today they definitely did. "

The "Elf vom Niederrhein", who are only three points away from the first relegation zone, will need Saturday's vigor at the beginning of the second half of the season when it comes to FC Bayern Munich (Friday, January 7th, 8.30pm in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and at Dazn), then at home against Bayer Leverkusen, the next top club, and a week later to Union Berlin, also in the first third of the table.

But Hütter didn't want to know anything about relegation on Saturday.

"I am convinced that the team has the quality to have nothing to do with the relegation battle." At least he admitted that much: "You have to accept the situation, it is not safe."