Hertha Berlin down Monchengladbach 3-0 in German Bundesliga
Xinhua, November 5, 2016 Adjust font size:
Berlin reaped the sixth win of the season after Salomon Kalou provided a hat rick against ten-men Monchengladbach in the 10th round action in German Bundesliga on Friday.
Monchengladbach have waited for their first win since the 5th round as Andre Schubert's men suffered the fourth loss of the season after Kalou scored three goals to secure a win on home soil.
The visitors started highly motived and took the reins in the opening period, yet Tobias Strobel and Raffael were unable to turn Monchengladbach's dominance into a tangible reward.
Hertha lacked in ideas to work out promising opportunities still they were able to break the deadlock against the run of the game when Salomon Kalou headed home Mitchell Weiser's cross into the box with 18 minutes into the game.
Monchengladbach wobbled and failed to respond whereas the hosts gained momentum to double the lead in the 33rd minute as Salomon Kalou capitalized on a deflected clearance to beat goalkeeper Yann Sommer into the far post corner.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Christoph Kramer was sent off after booking his second yellow card in the 39th minute.
After the restart, Monchengladbach tried to pull one back but neither Fabian Johnson nor Lars Stindl were able to score the consolation. While the "Foals" squandered their opportunities Hertha Berlin staged a clinical chance conversion as Kalou wrapped up his hat rick in the 83rd minute to put the result beyond doubt.
With the result, Berlin moved from the 5th to the 3rd position for the moment, and Monchengladbach stay on the 11th place of the standings.
The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: front-runners and title holders Bayern Munich host Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen meet Darmstadt, last placed Hamburg see Borussia Dortmund, Ingolstadt face Augsburg, newly promoted Freiburg encounter Wolfsburg and Frankfurt take on Cologne. Endit