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Four matches into this season's UEFA Champions League and Borussia Monchengladbach were enjoying themselves in Group B. Draws with Real Madrid, Inter Milan and two wins over Shakhtar Donetsk had vaulted them to the top of their group.

Then it all came crashing down. Die Fohlen's dream European run turned into a nightmare after coach Marco Rose informed the club's hierarchy that he would be making the most of a clause in his contract to leave this summer for Bundesliga rival Borussia Dortmund.

Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl confirmed that the decision had been made by Rose to cross the Borussia divide and Die Borussen have been in a nosedive ever since. In recent weeks, Gladbach have been edged out of the DFB Pokal by Dortmund and a UCL exit looks likely to follow later this week.

Manchester City lead the Bundesliga outfit, 2-0, from the first leg in Germany and a recovery looks unlikely for a team that has lost six consecutive matches across all competitions and failed to score in three of those outings.

"In the last few weeks, we have been having many conversations together about Marco's future," read Gladbach's brief communique at the time. "Unfortunately, he has decided to make use of a clause in his contract, which runs until 2022, to move to Borussia Dortmund in the summer.

"Should all the agreed conditions in his contract be fulfilled in a timely manner, he will therefore not be available to us next season. Until the end of the season we will, together with Marco, mobilize all our strength to reach our goals in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League."

Eberl's declaration was intended to have a unifying impact on the club and the team, yet -- if anything -- it has done the complete opposite and given Dortmund motivation with Erling Haaland and his teammates enjoying an upturn in form recently which saw them reach the quarterfinals.

Dortmund started with a 3-2 win away Sevilla in the UCL before a 4-0 win over bitter rivals Schalke 04 and a 3-0 success against Arminia Bielefeld before knocking Gladbach themselves out of domestic cup contention 1-0 away from home.

Gladbach has gone from Alassane Plea and Marcus Thuram running riot against the likes of Real and Shakhtar, as well as perennially underrated Lars Stindl enjoying his moment in the sun and Florian Neuhaus and Jonas Hofmann coming to Europe's attention to the very real possibility of no European soccer next season.

That is now the reality that Gladbach are wrestling with as they go into their return leg against City two goals down and in need of divine intervention if they are to break out of their current deep-rooted malaise.

Obviously, that does not help with the search for a new coach with the project less attractive and the club more likely to sell key components if some sort of continental competition is not secured between now and the end of the campaign.

Gladbach's salvation is highly unlikely to come against City this week but a straight run of Bundesliga games could fix their form as has been the case with the likes of Champions League dropouts Stade Rennais, who recovered some Ligue 1 form under coaching target Julien Stephan who has since left Roazhon Park.

With a good amount of winnable games between now and the end of the season, aside from the likes of already-conquered Bayern Munich, all hope is not lost for Gladbach to salvage something from what had been a successful season up until just recently.

A positive second-leg display against City could be what reignites the players' motivation to finish the season strongly and to snatch some form of continental competition for the beginning of a new era under a new boss come this summer.

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