Union Berlin see off Mainz in Bundesliga

BERLIN: Union Berlin clinched a 4-1 victory over Mainz after Kevin Behrens delivered a hat-trick to conclude the opening round of the Bundesliga.

Union Berlin had a dream start on their home turf. Within the opening minute, Jerome Roussillon's sharp cross found Behrens, who headed in the first goal, reports Xinhua.

Eight minutes later, Behrens found the net again, this time heading a cross from Aissa Laidouni.

Mainz struggled to counter, lacking both defense and offense. Despite their dominance, Union could have furthered their lead had Mainz's goalkeeper, Robin Zentner, not thwarted attempts by David Datro Fofana and Diogo Leite before the break.

Fofana later hit the crossbar with a promising free-kick.

Although Mainz began the second half with energy, their hopes were dashed when Union's goalie, Frederik Ronnow, saved a penalty taken by Ludovic Ajorque in the 60th minute.

Yet, Mainz managed to score in the 64th minute, thanks to Anthony Caci's volley off a clearance.

But any glimmer of a comeback was extinguished by Behrens' third header, completing his hat-trick in the 70th minute.

Ajorque was presented with another penalty opportunity, but again he couldn't get past Ronnow, missing his second penalty in the 88th minute.

Mainz's rough day was sealed when Milos Pantovic finalized the 4-1 victory for Union in the closing minutes.

"We fell behind early on and conceded the same goal twice. We just rolled out the red carpet for Kevin Behrens. We were better in the second half, came close and then squandered two penalties. After the 1-3, the game was actually over for us," stated Mainz coach Bo Svensson.

"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. The win was probably one goal too high," remarked Union coach Urs Fischer.

In other matches, Eintracht Frankfurt secured a win over Darmstadt with the only goal coming from Randal Kolo Muani.