Grimes on target as Swansea draw with Monchengladbach

Swansea City battled back from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach in sweltering conditions in Grassau.

Garry Monk handed a first run out to close-season signings Franck Tabanou and Andre Ayew, with Kristoffer Nordfeldt and Eder coming off the bench.

But it was Matt Grimes, a January signing from League Two Exeter City, who grabbed the leveller to cancel out Ibrahima Traore’s opener and celebrate his 20th birthday in style.

Traore took 14 minutes to put the Bundesliga side ahead, cutting in from the right and curling an excellent effort into the far corner.

Swansea mounted a determined response as Kyle Bartley headed narrowly over the crossbar from Gylfi Sigurdsson’s corner two minutes later.

The considerable heat meant there were several drinks breaks, which interrupted the flow of the game, as did the 11 changes the Premier League club made after 61 minutes.

The equaliser came seven minutes later, though, as Grimes produced a composed finish from inside the box following Wayne Routledge’s corner.

Swansea face German second-tier side 1860 Munich on Saturday.