Thuram brace powers Gladbach to 4-1 victory over Berlin
The French striker takes knee in show of solidarity with protests in US
Borussia Moenchengladbach routed Union Berlin 4-1 on Sunday behind closed doors with French striker Marcus Thuram scoring twice and taking a knee in protest at the death of an unarmed black man in the US.
First half goals by midfielder Florian Neuhaus, who bagged Gladbach’s 3,000th goal in the Bundesliga, and Thuram put Gladbach 2-0 up at the break.
Union’s Swedish striker Sebastian Andersson pulled one back early in the second half after being left unmarked.
However, Gladbach pulled away when Thuram added his second after pressing the Union defense. The 22-year-old French striker then took a knee on the Borussia Park turf, imitating NFL star Colin Kaepernick.
It was the latest show of Bundesliga solidarity with the current protests sweeping the US.
Schalke’s US midfielder Weston McKennie wore an armband in Saturday’s defeat to Werder Bremen bearing the words “Justice for George.”
George Floyd, 46, died in Minneapolis in an arrest by a police officer who pinned him to the ground for several minutes by kneeling on his neck.
On Sunday, Alassane Plea grabbed a goal of his own for Gladbach, having set up Thuram’s first, when he fired home off his left foot on 81 minutes to beat Union goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz.
After a 3-1 defeat to Leverkusen last weekend, and a goalless draw with relegation-threatened Werder Bremen on Tuesday, this was an important win for Gladbach.
It lifted them to third in the table, but RB Leipzig can take their place if they win at Cologne on Monday. On Saturday, reigning champions Bayern Munich opened a 10-point lead with a 5-0 thrashing of Fortuna Duesseldorf with the league’s top-scorer Robert Lewandowski netting twice.
Hungarian fans return to stadia after lockdown
Fans returned to Hungarian football stadia at the weekend after a two-month break due to the coronavirus, a first in Europe where other leagues have resumed behind closed doors.
The Hungarian Football Association (MLSZ) decided Thursday to allow clubs let fans in for the first time since March on condition that every second row in stadia remains empty, and that only every fourth seat is occupied.
Outside the Diosgyor club stadium in the northeastern city of Miskolc Saturday before its game with Mezokovesd their supporters said they were glad to be back and meet fellow fans again.
“We’ll keep the rules as there could be closed-doors games again if we screw up,” said Richard Kovacs, 36.
Some 2,255 spectators attended the game, one of six to take place in Hungary at the weekend, with the stands speckled with scattered fans. “The virus hasn’t disappeared so we must keep the distance,” said 18-year-old student Csaba Gasparics wearing a Diosgyor facemask.