Marcus Thuram, Plea dazzle as Gladbach rout Union

MUNICH: Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea combined to score three goals as Borussia Moenchengladbach crushed Union Berlin 4-1 on Sunday to reclaim third place in the Bundesliga with five matches left.

The 22-year-old Thuram headed in at the far post from fellow Frenchman Plea's cross in the 41st minute after Florian Neuhaus had put the hosts ahead in the 17th with a solo run.

Thuram went down on his knee in memory of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minnesota after a white police officer knelt on his neck, sparking widespread protests in the United States.

Sebastian Andersson briefly cut the deficit for the visitors five minutes after the restart.

But the hosts, playing fluid football in front of empty stands filled with cardboard cutouts of fans, were far superior, constantly finding space to attack.

Thuram, the son of 1998 World Cup winner Lilian Thuram, grabbed his second goal on the hour, tapping in at the far post after Plea threaded another pass through the Union defence.

Plea turned scorer himself with a well-timed left-footed shot to join Thuram on 10 goals this season and put Gladbach back in the mix for a Champions League spot with their first win in three games.

The Bundesliga became the first major sports league to restart two weeks ago after a break of more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Foals, who next travel to Freiburg, are third in the standings on 56 points, ahead of Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference. RB Leipzig, fifth on 55, take on Cologne on Monday.

Promoted Union have now gone six games without a win to drop down to 14th, four points above the relegation playoff spot.

Bayern Munich lead the standings on 67 following their 5-0 demolition of Fortuna Duesseldorf on Saturday.

Borussia Dortmund kept alive their slim title hopes in the Bundesliga after a hat-trick by England forward Jadon Sancho helped them to a 6-1 win at bottom team Paderborn on Sunday.

The result left Dortmund second on 60 points from 29 games with five rounds of matches remaining, seven behind champions and league leaders Bayern Munich. Paderborn remained rooted to the foot of the standings on 19 points.

The visitors missed a string of chances before Thorgan Hazard gave them a 54th-minute lead from close range and Sancho made it 2-0 three minutes later with a simple tap-in.

Uwe Huenemeier pulled one back for Paderborn with a 72nd-minute penalty before Sancho scored Dortmund's third two minutes later with a fine left-foot shot and Achraf Hakimi drilled in the fourth in the 85th minute.

Marcel Schmelzer made it 5-1 with a close-range goal in the 89th and Sancho completed his hat-trick barely 60 seconds later as Paderborn fell apart in the closing stages, giving him time and space to steer the ball past keeper Leopold Zingerle. Agencies