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Berlin (dpa) - The Hertha professionals with match winner Krzysztof Piatek danced in front of the deserted Ostkurve in the Olympic Stadium, the Unioners fell on the bench after the end of a long series of successes in the Berlin city duel.

The Hertha center forward, who was substituted at the break, ensured the 3-1 (0-1) success against rivals 1. FC Union on Friday evening at the start of the tenth match day of the Bundesliga with his goals in the 74th and 77th minutes.

"I am very happy.

It's a wonderful feeling.

I'm a striker and the most important thing for me is to score goals and help the team, ”said Piatek at the DAZN streaming service.

Thanks to him, the "old lady" celebrated her first home win of the season.

"I'm happy for him.

That's always good, ”admitted Hertha coach Bruno Labbadia.

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The opponent from Berlin-Köpenick, however, lost for the first time after eight games.

After the guests were led by Taiwo Awoniyi (20th minute) and the dismissal for Union clearer Robert Andrich (24th) for gross foul play, Peter Pekarik (51st) had equalized for Hertha.

Hertha moved up to eleventh place with eleven points due to the victory in the table, but is still five points behind the Sixth Union.

"That hurts," said Union goalkeeper Andreas Luthe about the defeat.

"We fought for a long time while we were outnumbered and we have the lucky punch."

His team, which had gone into a derby as the better positioned team for the first time, wanted to make up for something after the frustrating 4-0 in the last city duel in May.

Midfielder Andrich set clear signals with two rustic duels in the seemingly ghostly Olympic Stadium without fans.

Labbadia initially did without Piatek.

For this he brought in Lucas Tousart an additional midfielder.

In addition, after a long injury and Covid-19 break, Jordan Torunarigha replaced the ailing Omar Alderete in defense.

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Hertha optically took control.

But with the first serious attack, the guests shocked the hosts.

Marcus Ingvartsen put the ball through to Awoniyi.

The Liverpool loan pushed the ball into the far corner for his second goal of the season.

From the 24th minute on, the balance of power on the pitch changed suddenly, at least numerically.

Andrich went into a duel again without regard and hit Tousart on the head with a leg that was much too high.

Referee Felix Brych pulled straight red.

Hertha struggled with the personnel superiority, the five-man chain, which was offered by Union coach Urs Fischer from the beginning, closed the rooms.

Dodi Lukebakio had the first chance for Hertha after a corner from Matheus Cunha.

But the Belgian header came too unplaced.

Shortly before the break, Julian Ryerson cleared again from Lukebakio after an input from Vladimir Darida.

Hertha sports director Arne Friedrich made a clear judgment at the break.

"We're playing a bad game."

Labbadia reacted and brought Piatek and Javairo Dilrosun as offensive forces - and had success: Union keeper Andreas Luthe could only pull off the shot from Hertha's top scorer Cunha, defender Pekarik put the ball in the net for the second goal of the season.

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But Union did not let itself be disrupted at first.

But the first Bundesliga double strike by Piatek, bought from AC Milan for 24 million euros a year ago, made the decision for Hertha.

Union had no strength left to counter again.

Then another bitter scene for the guests: Max Kruse, who was unable to set any big accents this time, injured himself in stoppage time and had to leave the field.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201204-99-577785 / 3

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