Union Berlin kicked off their Bundesliga campaign with a resounding 4-1 victory over Mainz, propelled by Kevin Behrens’ impressive hat-trick. The match marked the opening round of the Bundesliga season.
Union Berlin seized an early advantage on their home ground, capitalizing on Jerome Roussillon’s precise cross to find Behrens, who headed in the opening goal just within the first minute, according to Xinhua’s report.
Behrens continued his goal-scoring spree, finding the net again eight minutes later with a powerful header from a cross delivered by Aissa Laidouni.
Mainz faced difficulties in both defense and offense, struggling to counter Union Berlin’s dominance. Despite Union’s control of the game, Mainz’s goalkeeper, Robin Zentner, managed to thwart attempts by David Datro Fofana and Diogo Leite before halftime.
Fofana’s promising free-kick struck the crossbar, denying him a goal.
While Mainz displayed renewed energy at the start of the second half, their hopes were dashed when Union Berlin’s goalkeeper, Frederik Ronnow, saved a penalty taken by Ludovic Ajorque in the 60th minute.
However, Mainz managed to pull one back in the 64th minute through Anthony Caci’s volley off a clearance.
Behrens swiftly extinguished any hopes of a comeback with his third header, completing his impressive hat-trick in the 70th minute.
Ajorque had another penalty opportunity, but Ronnow’s save in the 88th minute marked his second penalty miss of the match.
Mainz’s challenging day was sealed when Milos Pantovic secured a 4-1 victory for Union Berlin in the closing minutes.
Reflecting on the match, Mainz coach Bo Svensson acknowledged the team’s early setbacks and missed penalties, stating, “We fell behind early on and conceded the same goal twice. After the 1-3, the game was actually over for us.”
Union coach Urs Fischer, while acknowledging the deserved win, noted, “If we look at the 90 minutes, the win was deserved, but we allowed too much at times and got Mainz back into the game.”
In other matches, Eintracht Frankfurt secured a victory over Darmstadt with Randal Kolo Muani’s solitary goal.
-IANS
