Hertha BSC wins 3:0 at Kaiserslautern and stays unbeaten at the top of the 2. Bundesliga

Early pressure and the opening goal

Kaiserslautern started quickly in front of a sold-out Fritz-Walter-Stadion, and Hertha goalkeeper Marius Gersbeck had to make three saves around the tenth minute. Mika Haas and Thierry Tazemeta also created chances for the hosts, but neither could beat him. Hertha took the lead in the 17th minute, when Sebastian Grönning finished a move that began with a pass from Jon-Dagur Thorsteinsson. It was Hertha's first goal by a striker since the second matchday and Kaiserslautern's first home goal conceded this season. Before kickoff the home supporters had staged a choreography in memory of Fritz Walter, the 1954 world champion, who was born on 31 October 106 years earlier.

Second-half breakthrough

The match became heated after the early goal, and referee Felix Bickel had many duels to judge before the interval. Maxwell Gyamfi escaped a video review in the 32nd minute after a kick against Grönning. Hertha raised the tempo again after the break, and Grönning doubled the lead in the 52nd minute when he received a pass from Mads Pedersen on the left and only had to get his foot to the ball. Seven minutes later Pedersen broke into the penalty area, crossed from the byline and found Adewumi, who made it 3:0 in the 60th minute. Der Tagesspiegel credits Pedersen with setting up the second and third goals, and the match was watched by 49,327 spectators according to Die Welt.

Hertha's record start

Hertha have won nine of their ten matches and collected 28 points, which Die Welt reports matches the second-division start record set by Bayer Leverkusen in 1978/79. Leverkusen had also won nine games and drawn one after ten matchdays that season. Coach Stefan Leitl had called the trip to the Betzenberg a big challenge before kickoff in a Sky interview. Hertha's first-half control and their willingness to win the physical duels were, in the words of the reports, the basis for the result rather than any single moment.

Kaiserslautern and the table

Kaiserslautern, third in the table, had won their previous three matches and had kept a clean sheet in their first four home games of the season. The defeat ends that run and leaves the hosts ten points behind Hertha, according to Die Welt. RP Online reports that the hosts had been unbeaten at home until this result, and they had not conceded in front of their own fans since the start of the campaign. The loss came in a match the hosts had prepared for with strong support from the stands.

Wolfsburg win at Osnabrück

VfL Wolfsburg beat newly promoted VfL Osnabrück 2:0 (1:0) under coach Tobias Strobl, with Fabian Reese scoring in the 30th minute and setting up the goal of Muhammed Damar in the 50th minute. Wolfsburg had now been unbeaten in five matches and moved up to second place, at least until Sunday. Osnabrück remain in mid-table. The result sets up a return fixture for Reese, who will face his former club, though the reports do not state his history with Hertha.

What comes next

Wolfsburg visit the leaders on Saturday, 7 November, according to RP Online, and that match will test whether Hertha can keep their unbeaten run going against a side chasing promotion. Kaiserslautern will need to recover from their first home defeat of the season. Hertha have the lead in the table, and their next match will show whether their form holds against a team in the promotion places.