Patrick Herrmann scored two goals and set up another for Borussia Moenchengladbach to underline their strong start to their Bundesliga campaign with a 3-1 win over previously undefeated TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Sunday.
Andre Hahn opened the scoring with a volley from Herrmann’s cutback after a flowing team move in the 12th minute.
Anthony Modeste equalized after a defensive lapse in the 30th minute, but Hahn returned the earlier favor and crossed for Herrmann to restore ’Gladbach’s lead two minutes later.
Photo: Reuters
Herrmann claimed his second in the 52nd minute, pouncing on the rebound after the Hoffenheim goalkeeper spilled Havard Nordtveit’s free-kick.
It could have been worse for Hoffenheim as Raffael also hit the crossbar.
Moenchengladbach equaled the club record of 17 competitive games unbeaten set by the 1970-1971 team coached by Hennes Weisweiler.
Photo: EPA
“Of course I’m satisfied. It was fully deserved. Now we have 20 points. It’s fantastic,” said ’Gladbach coach Lucien Favre, who was celebrating his 57th birthday. “We’re not going to rest on it though, but keep working hard to be successful in future.”
Favre’s side stayed four points behind leaders Bayern Munich, trailing second-placed VfL Wolfsburg on goal-difference. Bayern and ’Gladbach are the only remaining unbeaten sides.
Promoted SC Paderborn 07 moved into seventh with a 3-1 win over visiting Hertha BSC later on Sunday.
Marvin Bakalorz put the home side ahead in the 28th minute, only for Solomon Kalou to equalize with a powerful header from Marcel Ndjeng’s cross in the 41st, but Elias Kachunga restored Paderborn’s lead with a glancing header from Jens Wemmer’s cross in the 53rd and Alban Meha’s long-range strike secured the win in the 76th minute.
“It’s fun to see how the whole of Paderborn is still in euphoria,” Paderborn coach Andre Breitenreiter said.
Breitenreiter said the club had learned from Eintracht Braunschweig and SpVgg Greuther Fuerth, sides which struggled in the Bundesliga after earning promotion in the past couple of seasons.
“We saw that they had trouble scoring goals and so we reinforced the squad accordingly,” Breitenreiter said. “I think that’s paying off now.”
Also on Sunday, Vladimir Darida’s 51st-minute penalty was enough for SC Freiburg to beat Cologne 1-0 for the visitors’ first victory of the season.
“I’m not looking at the table. I’m concentrating only on our team. We’ll see at the end of the season if it’s enough,” said Freiburg coach Christian Streich, whose side moved into the relegation playoff place, one point above bottom sides Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care