Moenchengladbach players celebrate their fourth goal against Borussia Dortmund during the German Bundesliga soccer match in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Jan 22, 2021. (MARTIN MEISSNER / AP)

BERLIN - Second-half goals from Ramy Bensebaini and Marcus Thuram helped Borussia Moenchengladbach overcome Borussia Dortmund 4-2 at home in the opening match of the 18th round of the German Bundesliga on Friday.

The Foals needed no warm-up time and thought they had broken the deadlock less than a minute into the game, but Florian Neuhaus' opener was disallowed due to a foul from Jonas Hofmann in the build-up.

It was an intense see-saw game, but we had to swallow too many setbacks to win this game.

Edin Terzic, Dortmund's caretaker manager

Marco Rose's men overran Dortmund's defense at the start as the hosts scored the opening goal in the 11th minute when Hofmann's free-kick into the box allowed Nico Elvedi to nod home.

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Dortmund suddenly came back to life and restored parity with their first chance as Jadon Sancho's through ball found Erling Haaland, who chipped the ball past Moenchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer in the 22nd minute.

The equalizer shocked the hosts and Dortmund gained momentum and turned the tides six minutes later, when Haaland made the most of Sancho's second assist of the night.

Moenchengladbach's Matthias Ginter (left) tackles Dortmund's Erling Haaland during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Jan 22, 2021. (MARTIN MEISSNER / AP)

Dortmund's lead didn't last long though as Moenchengladbach responded well and made it 2-2 after Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki parried a Lars Stindl free-kick into the path of Elvedi, who tapped home his brace from very close range in the 32nd minute.

Both sides continued to trade attacks but neither Sancho nor Neuhaus could break the tie before halftime.

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With the loss, Dortmund slipped to the fifth spot in the Bundesliga standings

After the restart, Monchengladbach once again grabbed a good start into the second half as Bensebaini had time and space inside the box to surprise Burki with a curl into the far post corner despite a lot of traffic inside the box in the 50th minute.

Dortmund had to wait until the 75th minute to produce its next clear-cut opportunity as Raphael Guerreiro's long-rang strike forced Sommer to make a diving safe.

At the other end of the pitch, Moenchengladbach showed its efficiency and put the result beyond doubt as Thuram headed home Neuhaus' corner with 79 minutes into the match.

With the result, Moenchengladbach climbed to fourth place whereas Dortmund slipped to the fifth spot in the Bundesliga standings.

"It was an intense see-saw game, but we had to swallow too many setbacks to win this game," Dortmund caretaker manager Edin Terzic said.