Andrey Voronin hit his fourth goal in four games on Saturday to help put Hertha Berlin back on top of the Bundesliga as the leaders sealed a 2-1 win over bottom club Borussia Munchengladbach.
The Ukrainian striker, on loan from Liverpool, hit a first-half goal that showcased his excellent finishing, before Hungary midfielder Pal Dardai put Hertha 2-0 up at halftime.
US midfielder Michael Bradley converted a penalty for Munchengladbach on 69 minutes after Hertha’s Germany defender Arne Friedrich brought down international teammate Marko Marin in the area.
PHOTO : AP
“I would have taken this result before the match without a second thought,” Hertha coach Lucien Favre said.
“We knew that Munchengladbach would be hard to beat and it was important that we led them,” he said. “They came back at us when they were 2-0 down, so it was no surprise it was closer at the end. But it was very important for us to get a win after last weekend’s defeat at Wolfsburg.”
Third-placed Hoffenheim missed out on the chance to claim top spot when they were held 0-0 at Borussia Dortmund.
PHOTO: AFP
Both sides were reduced to 10 men when Hoffenheim midfielder Tobias Weis retaliated after being brought down by Dortmund’s Sebastian Kehl.
Weis was shown a straight red, while Kehl was shown his second yellow.
Relegation candidates Bochum escaped the bottom three after a 3-2 win over fellow strugglers Energie Cottbus, who drop into the danger zone.
Bochum’s Austrian defender Christian Fuchs equalized with a direct free-kick on 54 minutes, before French defender Marc Pfertzel converted an 80th-minute penalty to give Bochum three much-needed points.
Struggling Schalke 04 let in a late equalizer as Eintracht Frankfurt threatened to grab a share of the points, before Germany defender Heiko Westermann volleyed into an empty net in the 83rd minute.
The 2-1 win moves Schalke up to seventh in the league, with Frankfurt now 13th.
Bayer Leverkusen were shocked by a 1-0 defeat at Hannover which leaves them sixth in the table, while Hanover are 12th.
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