Gladbach Pointless and Bottom After Five Games as Alexander Blessin's Rescue Mission Begins with Derby Defeat
Borussia Mönchengladbach remain the only team yet to register a single Bundesliga point in 2026/27 and sit bottom of the table after five matchdays, leaving new head coach Alexander Blessin with an immediate fight to haul the Foals off the floor.
Gladbach's latest blow came in the Rhine derby at Cologne, where Blessin's first match in charge ended in a 2-1 defeat. The result left the Foals without a win by Matchday 5 for the second season running and the seventh time in their Bundesliga history. Only once before — in 2015/16 — had they lost their opening five league games.
"We had a similar situation last season and we'd all hoped not to be there again," said Gladbach sporting director Rouven Schröder in September after dismissing Eugen Polanski in the wake of four straight defeats. "The current situation isn't good."
Blessin was brought in to turn things around after the international break, but his reign began with the derby reverse at Cologne. That match was itself overshadowed by trouble in the stands: the game was halted for several minutes amid reports of fireworks fired towards home sections, prompting riot police to surround the away supporters' block, as reported on 11 October.
Pointless — but far from unique
Being without a point after five matchdays is not as rare as it might seem. Across 64 Bundesliga seasons, 15 teams have reached this stage on zero points, while well over 50 have been winless. The longest wait for a first victory belongs to Nuremberg in 2013/14, who finally won on Matchday 18.
The record for the fewest wins across an entire Bundesliga season stands at just two, set by Tasmania Berlin in 1965/66 and matched by Wuppertal in 1974/75. Tasmania Berlin also hold the unwanted distinction of the worst season in Bundesliga history, amassing only 10 points.
Why the Foals can still survive
It is still early for this Gladbach vintage, and history suggests the situation is far from fatal. Their predecessors of 2025/26 and 2015/16 both managed to stay up after winless starts, as did the classes of 1990/91 and 1991/92.
Being bottom after Matchday 5 is also rarely a sign of doom. Since 1963/64, the team in last place at this stage has been relegated only 22 times, and over the past 26 years the bottom club after five matchdays has gone down on just 12 occasions.
Gladbach themselves produced the best turnaround in Bundesliga history in 2015/16, recovering from zero points after five games to finish fourth and qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Appointing a new coach is nothing new in this position either: exactly half of the teams (32 of 64) who have been bottom after Matchday 5 have changed their head coach over the course of the season.