Miro Muheim and Albert Grønbæk hit screamers as Hamburg beat ten-man Gladbach
Miro Muheim and Albert Grønbæk both scored sensational goals as Hamburger defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 on Friday night, with HSV taking advantage after Kō Itakura's red card early in the second half.
Hamburg 3-1 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Goals: 1-0 Muheim 11’ (assist: Sambi Lokonga), 1-1 Scally 44’, 2-1 Nandja 60’ (assist: Grøbæk), 3-1 Grøbæk 70’
Sent off: Itakura 49’
Hamburg made three changes from their defeat in Frankfurt, with Sebastiaan Bornauw, Zakaria El Ouahdi and Patson Daka all returning to the starting XI in place of Jordan Torunarigha, Louis Lemke and Terem Moffi.
Gladbach made a single switch, with Kō Itakura coming into the back three for the injured Daiki Hashioka, his first start in seven weeks.
Muheim's rocket sets the tone
Gladbach were bright early on, with Shuto Machino firing over inside four minutes. Hamburg then struck from nowhere on 11 minutes: a loose ball found Albert Sambi Lokonga, who slid it to Muheim, and the full-back lashed a 30-metre strike into the bottom corner at a measured 129.43 km/h - the fastest Bundesliga goal this season.
Daniel Batz then produced several smart saves to deny David Møller Wolfe and others, before Joe Scally levelled on the stroke of half-time, his shot deflecting in after a Lukas Ullrich cross was only half-cleared.
Itakura sees red, Nandja and Grønbæk settle it
Three minutes into the second half, Itakura brought down Møller Wolfe near the halfway line and was shown a second yellow card, reducing Gladbach to ten men. Hamburg made their advantage count on 60 minutes when Grønbæk threaded a pass into the box that Shafiq Nandja drilled past Batz.
Grønbæk then got on the scoresheet himself in the 70th minute, rifling a long-range effort into the top corner after Gladbach failed to clear a loose ball. Daka and others pressed for a fourth, but the scoreline held at 3-1.
Man of the Match: Albert Grønbæk
Grønbæk set up Nandja's decisive goal before scoring a spectacular long-range finish of his own to make it 3-1. He was named the game's standout performer, topping the Fantasy Manager ranking for either side, and his contributions across the second half, after Gladbach had been reduced to 10 men, proved pivotal to Hamburg's win.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Hamburger SV 1.90 - Borussia Mönchengladbach 1.86
Fastest player: Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit (Hamburg), 35.1 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 3-1 by Albert Grønbæk (Hamburg), 2 percent
Pass efficiency: Zakaria El Ouahdi (Hamburg), +2.69
Fantasy Heroes: Albert Grønbæk (Hamburg, 310 Points), Miro Muheim (Hamburg, 282 Points), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 235 Points)
