Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 7:29 PM• Chris Meijer

Jurgen Ekkelenkamp showed himself on Sunday evening during the game between Hertha BSC and Bayern Munich. The midfielder came in as a substitute and immediately signed for a goal with his first contact with the ball. It was, incidentally, no more than a goal of honour, because Bayern booked a marked 1-4 victory in Berlin. Coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team remains the Bundesliga leader with a six-point lead over Borussia Dortmund, while Hertha is number thirteen.

Bayern started the calendar year 2022 with a surprising home defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach, but took revenge last week with a 0-4 victory over 1.FC Köln. Also in the Olympiastadion in Berlin of the Rekordmeister put things in order quickly. After two minutes of play, the ball was already in the net behind Hertha goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow, only Corentin Tolisso’s goal was crossed due to offside. Schwolow subsequently proved to be an obstacle for Bayern several times, including a bet by Robert Lewandowski.

With 28 minutes on the clock, Bayern took the lead when Tolisso headed a measured cross from Kingsley Coman against the ropes while falling. Before halftime, Bayern extended its lead to a comfortable margin of two. Müller was released completely on a free kick by Joshua Kimmich and then simply tapped the ball into the free right corner. Schwolow kept his goal clean in the second half, despite opportunities for Serge Gnabry and Coman, among others.

Fifteen minutes before the end, however, Bayern ran away to a large margin and that was thanks to the excellent goalkeeper Schwolow. Hertha’s closing post passed the ball in front of his goal and overlooked the approaching Leroy Sané, who gratefully shoved the leather into the empty goal. Four minutes later, Gnabry lifted the margin to four after a splitting pass from Kimmich.

Ten minutes before the end, Ekkelenkamp saved Hertha’s honor with his first contact with the ball. Manuel Neuer initially saved a bet from Stevan Jovetic, but the Bayern goalkeeper had no chance when Ekkelenkamp lifted the ball over him in the rebound. With this, Ekkelenkamp ultimately determined the final score, partly because another goal from Sané was cancelled. The Bayern attacker was given the time and space to find the shot on the edge of the penalty area and curled the ball beautifully into the far left corner. Sané, however, made hands in the run-up to the goal, which left it at 1-4.