In the second test match under new manager Alexander Blessin, Borussia Mönchengladbach suffered a setback on Sunday. At his return to his former workplace, the successor to Eugen Polanski saw an ultimately deserved 1-1 draw against FC St. Pauli.

Captain Tim Kleindienst (16th minute) gave the visitors the lead at the Millerntor, but Ricky-Jade Jones (75th minute) scored the deserved equalizer for the second-division side.

Overall, the Blessin side rarely managed to create clear advantages during the match in Hamburg. In the manager's debut the previous week, there had been a 3-0 victory against Sportfreunde Siegen.

The real test comes next Sunday at 3:30 PM CET in the Bundesliga. In the Rhineland derby against 1. FC Köln, Gladbach will aim to secure their first points of the season.

Franck Honorat will likely be absent. The winger suffered a muscle injury during training and, according to information from the Rheinische Post, will not be available for the Cologne match.

Blessin sees "much work" ahead at Gladbach

For Blessin, the return to the Millerntor was an emotional matter. The 53-year-old had taken over from Fabian Hürzeler there in summer 2024, who moved to Brighton in the Premier League after promotion.

In his first year, Blessin achieved promotion to the Bundesliga with St. Pauli. Last season ended with relegation and his departure as manager.

Blessin revealed in a recent conversation with the Hamburger Abendblatt that he needed quite a bit of time to regain energy after the relegation. He noted that the first week did not improve things, nor did the second week really. Only with the decision to part ways did he find inner peace.

Regarding his new task at Gladbach, Blessin stated that the main objective now is to regain the trust of the people. He emphasized that much work lies ahead, but expressed that he is glad and happy to have this job.