Hamburg eases relegation pressure as Gronbaek inspires Gladbach victory

BERLIN, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Hamburger SV defeated 10-man Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Friday, with Albert Gronbaek scoring once and setting up another.

Both sides approached the ninth-round encounter aggressively, with Shuto Machino narrowly missing the target for Gladbach before Hamburg's Patson Daka was denied by goalkeeper Daniel Batz.

Hamburg broke the deadlock in the 11th minute when Miro Muheim collected Albert Sambi Lokonga's pass and unleashed a powerful strike from 30 meters into the bottom corner.

The hosts maintained their attacking momentum, but Batz produced important saves against Alexandre Moller Wolfe, while Gladbach threatened through Ko Itakura and Uno.

Despite Hamburg's pressure, the visitors equalized shortly before halftime. Warmed Omari's attempted clearance fell to Joe Scally, whose volley took a deflection off Robin Hack before finding the net in the 44th minute.

Gladbach's hopes suffered a major setback four minutes after the restart when Itakura received his second yellow card for fouling Gronbaek, leaving the visitors with 10 men.

The hosts capitalized on their numerical advantage in the 60th minute. Lokonga initiated the move with a precise pass before Gronbaek laid the ball off for defender Shafiq Nandja, who celebrated his first Bundesliga goal.

Gronbaek then extended Hamburg's advantage 10 minutes later, driving a spectacular effort from approximately 28 meters into the top corner to put Hamburg firmly in control.

Gladbach nearly responded when Scally threatened following a defensive mistake, but Hamburg survived before goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes denied Florian Neuhaus late on.

"It was a special evening for me to contribute a goal and see everyone celebrating with me. It was the most beautiful moment of my life. I had tears in my eyes. Being able to help the team like that is indescribable," Nandja said.

The victory lifted Hamburg to eighth place with 12 points from nine matches, while Gladbach remained bottom with four points, having suffered its seventh defeat of the campaign.

Hamburg next faces Werder Bremen in the northern derby after the international break, while Gladbach hosts Borussia Dortmund.