BORUSSIA Moenchengladbach failed to score for a fourth successive Bundesliga game as they warmed up for their Champions League group game against Celtic with a “disappointing” goalless draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday night.

And there was further good news for Brendan Rodgers’ side as key Gladbach trio Raffael, Thorgan Hazard and Ibrahima Traore failed to return from injury, placing in doubt their chances of featuring in Tuesday’s home game against the Scottish champions.

Moenchengladbach, who won 2-0 in Glasgow in the first match between the sides, dominated possession against relegation-threatened Frankfurt but couldn’t break down the visitors’ defence, an Oscar Wendt effort that struck the crossbar midway through the second half the closest they came to scoring.

Manager Andre Schubert praised his defence for keeping a fourth clean sheet in their last five matches but admitted his frustration at the failure to prise Eintracht open.

“We have a very good defensive structure to our game, and have kept clean sheets in most of our last five games,” he said. “That is a positive, but we’re lacking a bit of creativity going forward. We’re missing a few key players, and we’re playing every three days at the moment.

“You could see that we were making lots of little mistakes, technical mistakes, which we wouldn’t normally make, like in our movement and control of the ball. It meant that we never really got into a good flow. Our opponents didn’t have any chances at all, and we had the one, and apart from that it was a very scrappy game. Both teams battled hard. Had we created one or two more chances, I’d have said we deserved to win the game. As it was, we’d have been lucky to get the win, so you have to say that a draw is a fair result.”

Sporting director Max Eberl admitted that Gladbach are struggling for form domestically and that they were missing the input of their three injured attacking players.

“Frankfurt are an excellent team, and they defended very well,” he said. “I’m not surprised by what happened. We’re struggling a bit at the moment, and you can see that. It’s a difficult period, so we really need everyone on board to keep picking up points.

“Frankfurt defended stoutly and are very quick at the back, which means they can play such a high line. That’s why we were never really able to get in behind them. [On Friday night] we missed the kind of players who can get the ball under control in the tightest spots and keep it moving forward - we missed Ibo Traore, Thorgan Hazard and Raffael, who are so effective in one-on-one situations. It’s really showing at the moment, and that’s why the game was so tough and scrappy. The lads gave everything they had, but unfortunately it was only enough for one point.”

German international Christoph Kramer similarly bemoaned Gladbach’s weaknesses up front. “We’re lacking that necessary understanding in attack just at the moment. We’re not showing the same level of penetration we had been doing recently. These periods can happen. The important thing is that we’re staying solid at the back and keeping clean sheets.”