Bundesliga
Union Berlin claimed a 3-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday evening, with Danilho Doekhi scoring twice in a dominant home performance to compound the away side's poor start to the season.
Union Berlin 3-1 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Goals: 1-0 Doekhi 3' (assist: Trimmel), 2-0 Doekhi 26', 2-1 Tabaković 33' (assist: Engelhardt), 3-1 Khedira 81'
Union entered the match sitting four places and four points above Gladbach in the table, having collected seven points from their opening six fixtures. The visitors were still searching for their first win of the season after three draws and three defeats.
The hosts burst out of the blocks and took the lead within three minutes. Christopher Trimmel delivered a perfect in-swinging corner from the left, and Doekhi rose highest to power a header into the net.
Union continued to dominate, with Derrick Köhn testing Moritz Nicolas twice in the opening ten minutes. Gladbach struggled to cope with Union's intensity and aggressive pressing, barely stringing passes together. Union's pressure told again in the 26th minute when Doekhi doubled their lead. Ilyas Ansah showed brilliant skill to burst past three defenders before hitting the post, with Doekhi quickest to react and slide the rebound home.
Just when Union looked to be cruising, Gladbach found a foothold in the match. In the 33rd minute, Yannik Engelhardt played a clever reverse pass to Haris Tabaković, who curled a brilliant finish inside the far post to halve the deficit.
The goal transformed the visitors, who finished the half strongly. Union were forced into an early substitution when Trimmel received a yellow card and was immediately replaced by Janik Haberer - a seemingly tactical change to avoid the risk of a red card against the lively Jens Castrop.
The second half began with Union again looking the more dangerous side despite Gladbach enjoying more possession. Polanski made a bold quadruple substitution on the hour mark, bringing on Kevin Stöger, Lukas Ullrich, Giovanni Reyna and Franck Honorat in an attempt to find an equaliser.
Baumgart responded with changes of his own, introducing Wooyeong Jeong and Tom Rothe in the 69th minute. As Gladbach pushed forward, spaces opened up for the hosts, and Rani Khedira sealed the victory in the 81st minute. After Friedrich failed to clear a free-kick properly, the ball looped into the path of Khedira, who executed a perfect volley into the bottom corner to make it 3-1.
Doekhi produced a masterclass in both boxes, scoring twice to set Union on their way to victory. The Dutch defender showcased his aerial prowess with a powerful header from Trimmel's corner for the opener, before showing his predatory instincts to react quickest when Ansah's shot hit the post.
Beyond his goals, Doekhi was commanding at the back, winning crucial duels against Tabaković and helping Union keep Gladbach at arm's length for most of the match. His 69% share of the fan vote for Man of the Match was thoroughly deserved after a performance that combined defensive solidity with match-winning attacking contributions.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Union Berlin 1.81 - Mönchengladbach 0.87
Fastest player: Tim Skarke (Union), 35.11 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 3-1 by Rani Khedira (Union), 7.7 percent
Most pressed player: Ilyas Ansah (Union), 21 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Aljoscha Kemlein (Union), 1.72
Fantasy Heroes: Danilho Doekhi (Union, 440 Points), Rani Khedira (Union, 269 Points), Aljoscha Kemlein (Union, 184 Points)