By Rich
Summer acquisition Max Kruse scored his first goal for 1. FC Union Berlin on Friday in a 4:0 shutout of visiting 1. FSV Mainz 05. Kruse scored the first goal of the match, off a cross from Sheraldo Becker, in the 13th minute. Kruse’s goal was followed by goals from Marcus Ingvartsen in the 49th minute, Marvin Friedrich in the 63rd minute, and substitute Joel Pohjanpalo in the 64th minute - just 35 seconds after he came off the bench. Union Berlin became the 5th team Kruse has scored for in the 1. Bundesliga, after Freiburg, Wolfsburg, Gladbach, and Bremen. Pohjanpalo’s goal was also his 1st for Union Berlin, and this was the 1st time that Union Berlin has scored more than 3 goals in a single Bundesliga match. Kruse has said that his personal goal is to keep Union Berlin in the top flight, and the 3 points they earned on Friday moved them momentarily into 3rd place going into the weekend’s remaining contests. 2 other clubs with successful openings to their seasons will face off on Saturday, when Eintracht Frankfurt host TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. This will also be a contest between 2 of the league’s top scorers: Frankfurt’s Andre Silva and Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric. Silva has scored 10 goals in his last 12 Bundesliga matches, while Kramaric scored a brace in last weekend’s defeat of Bayern, and that brace followed Kramaric’s opening-weekend hat-trick. Hoffenheim are at the top of the table for the 1st time since the first matchday of the 2014-15 season, but will be looking to reverse 1 cruel statistic: Kramaric is goalless in 7 contests against Frankfurt; in fact, of the 22 Bundesliga clubs Kramaric has faced, Frankfurt are the only 1 to shut him out. Also on Saturday, Rheinland adversaries Gladbach and Cologne will face off in Cologne. Cologne are 1 of only 3 clubs who have yet to pick up a point so far this season, and Gladbach are off to a slow start, losing to Dortmund the first weekend of the season and drawing against Union Berlin last week. Gladbach’s Foals have recorded more wins (50) and scored more goals (177) against Cologne than any other opponent in the league, and they have also won 10 of their last 14 derbies against the Billy Goats. Looking ahead to Sunday, Bayern will try to regain top form when they host Hertha Berlin. Their defeat last weekend against Hoffenheim was their first loss in 32 matches, but they are coming off a midweek win over Borussia Dortmund to take the DFL Supercup. Hertha have split their first 2 matches of the season, with a win over Bremen and a loss at home to Frankfurt. This fixture last season ended in a 2:2 draw.
Summer acquisition Max Kruse scored his first goal for 1. FC Union Berlin on Friday in a 4:0 shutout of visiting 1. FSV Mainz 05. Kruse scored the first goal of the match, off a cross from Sheraldo Becker, in the 13th minute. Kruse’s goal was followed by goals from Marcus Ingvartsen in the 49th minute, Marvin Friedrich in the 63rd minute, and substitute Joel Pohjanpalo in the 64th minute - just 35 seconds after he came off the bench. Union Berlin became the 5th team Kruse has scored for in the 1. Bundesliga, after Freiburg, Wolfsburg, Gladbach, and Bremen. Pohjanpalo’s goal was also his 1st for Union Berlin, and this was the 1st time that Union Berlin has scored more than 3 goals in a single Bundesliga match. Kruse has said that his personal goal is to keep Union Berlin in the top flight, and the 3 points they earned on Friday moved them momentarily into 3rd place going into the weekend’s remaining contests. 2 other clubs with successful openings to their seasons will face off on Saturday, when Eintracht Frankfurt host TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. This will also be a contest between 2 of the league’s top scorers: Frankfurt’s Andre Silva and Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric. Silva has scored 10 goals in his last 12 Bundesliga matches, while Kramaric scored a brace in last weekend’s defeat of Bayern, and that brace followed Kramaric’s opening-weekend hat-trick. Hoffenheim are at the top of the table for the 1st time since the first matchday of the 2014-15 season, but will be looking to reverse 1 cruel statistic: Kramaric is goalless in 7 contests against Frankfurt; in fact, of the 22 Bundesliga clubs Kramaric has faced, Frankfurt are the only 1 to shut him out. Also on Saturday, Rheinland adversaries Gladbach and Cologne will face off in Cologne. Cologne are 1 of only 3 clubs who have yet to pick up a point so far this season, and Gladbach are off to a slow start, losing to Dortmund the first weekend of the season and drawing against Union Berlin last week. Gladbach’s Foals have recorded more wins (50) and scored more goals (177) against Cologne than any other opponent in the league, and they have also won 10 of their last 14 derbies against the Billy Goats. Looking ahead to Sunday, Bayern will try to regain top form when they host Hertha Berlin. Their defeat last weekend against Hoffenheim was their first loss in 32 matches, but they are coming off a midweek win over Borussia Dortmund to take the DFL Supercup. Hertha have split their first 2 matches of the season, with a win over Bremen and a loss at home to Frankfurt. This fixture last season ended in a 2:2 draw.
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