Muheim and Grønbæk score from range as Hamburg beat ten-man Gladbach 3-1

Hamburg ended a run of three defeats in all competitions by beating bottom club Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 (1-1) on Friday night, the opening game of Bundesliga matchday 9. Long-range goals from Hamburg's Miro Muheim and Albert Grønbæk framed the win, and a second yellow card for Gladbach defender Ko Itakura shortly after half-time decided it. Hamburg, 15th on nine points before kick-off, now have 12 and move up to eighth for the time being; Gladbach stay last on four.

Muheim scores, Gladbach level

Muheim struck first in the 11th minute from about 30 metres, a shot that public broadcaster NDR clocked at 129 km/h and that went in low at the bottom right. It was his third goal of the season from distance, after similar efforts at Hoffenheim and against Stuttgart. Hamburg then let chances to go 2-0 slip: Zakaria El Ouahdi (14th minute) and David Møller Wolfe (36th and 43rd) were each denied by Gladbach goalkeeper Daniel Batz, who made six saves in all, according to our match data. The visitors had openings of their own through Shuto Machino, Zento Uno and Florian Neuhaus, and levelled in the 44th minute: Gladbach's Joe Scally curled a shot from about 20 metres towards the left post, it took a touch off the knee of his team-mate Robin Hack, and it went in past Hamburg goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes.

Itakura's second booking turns the game

Itakura, who had been booked in the first half and started in place of the injured Gladbach defender Daiki Hashioka, fouled Grønbæk by the touchline and was sent off in the 49th minute. Hamburg punished the extra man ten minutes later: after a neat move that involved Grønbæk, defender Shafiq Nandja, 19 and a product of the club's academy, finished from 11 metres for his first Bundesliga goal (59th minute). Hamburg nearly gave the lead back when defender Sebastiaan Bornauw's error in build-up handed Scally a shooting chance, but Bornauw blocked the effort himself. Grønbæk, the player Itakura had fouled, settled it in the 70th minute with a curling shot from 27 metres.

What it changes

The win was Hamburg's third at home this season. It lifts them from 15th to eighth with 12 points, eight clear of Gladbach, though the table can still move on Saturday. By our count Hamburg's goal difference improves from minus 12 to minus 10 (10 scored, 20 conceded in nine games). Gladbach still finished with 19 shots to Hamburg's 18, 13 of them before half-time according to our match data, but Hamburg put nine on target to six and kept 62 per cent of the ball. Gladbach's four points all came in their previous two league games; they remain last, two behind Schalke and three behind Union Berlin, who play at Hoffenheim and Freiburg respectively on Sunday. Gladbach's Wael Mohya, 17, called up a day earlier by Germany coach Jürgen Klopp for the Nations League games against Serbia and the Netherlands, made little impact, according to Welt.

After the international break Hamburg travel to Werder Bremen for the north derby on 22 November (17:30 local time). Gladbach host Dortmund the day before without Itakura, who is suspended, according to LigaInsider.