Burke hits Bundesliga hat trick as Union Berlin beats Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3, Dortmund wins

Union Berlin's Scottish forward #07 Oliver Burke (R) celebrates with teammates scoring during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and 1 FC Union Berlin in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany on September 21, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 21 September 2025
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Burke hits Bundesliga hat trick as Union Berlin beats Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3, Dortmund wins

BERLIN: Scottish forward Oliver Burke scored a Bundesliga hat trick as Union Berlin delivered a master class in counterattacking soccer before holding on to defeat Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 away on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Ilyas Ansah also starred, capitalizing on a mix-up in the Frankfurt defense to open the scoring in the ninth minute.
Ansah was involved again before Serbian forward Andrej Ilić sent Burke through for his first goal in the 32nd.
Nathaniel Brown pulled one back before the break but Frankfurt’s hopes of an equalizer were dented when Ansah got up after a foul and eluded two defenders before playing the ball out to Ilić, who crossed for Burke to make it 3-1 in the 53rd.
Ilić also set up the next goal three minutes for his fourth assist. Burke finished with a delicate chip over Kaua Santos in the Frankfurt goal.
One young Frankfurt fan cried in disappointment.
But Can Uzun pulled one back in the 80th and Frankfurt got a penalty when Jonathan Burkardt went down spectacularly. Leopold Querfeld had his hand near the Frankfurt forward’s neck and was penalized after a VAR check. Burkardt stayed cool to score from the spot in the 87th.
Union coach Steffen Baumgart was sent off shortly afterward for kicking a paper cup in frustration.
Dortmund delight
Karim Adeyemi’s first-half rocket from 18 meters (yards) was enough for Borussia Dortmund to beat Wolfsburg 1-0 for its third straight Bundesliga win.
Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck returned after a six-month injury layoff because of a meniscus tear in his knee and played the whole game.
Denmark playmaker Christian Eriksen made his Wolfsburg debut on the hour-mark but couldn’t prevent the team’s first league loss of the season.
Dortmund is second in the league, two points behind Bayern Munich.
Gladbach’s first goal
Haris Tabaković scored Borussia Mönchengladbach’s first league goal of the season to earn a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in the team’s first match since firing Gerardo Seoane as coach.
Tabaković equalized with a header off a corner in the second minute of stoppage time for Gladbach to get a deserved point in its first game under interim coach Eugen Polanski, previously the under-23 team coach.
American midfielder Malik Tillman put Leverkusen ahead on a counterattack in the 70th, but the home team’s performance shows there is still much work to do for new coach Kasper Hjulmand. He inherited the rebuilding project from Erik ten Hag, fired after just three games in charge.


China, North Korea make winning starts at Women’s Asian Cup

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China, North Korea make winning starts at Women’s Asian Cup

  • China beat South Korea in Mumbai four years ago to win their ninth Asian Cup and are the most successful team in the tournament’s history

SYDNEY: China kicked off their Women’s Asian Cup title defense with a battling 2-0 win over resilient tournament debutants Bangladesh in Group B on Tuesday, courtesy of Wang Shuang and Zhang Rui hitting the target.

But it was hard work in front of a boisterous crowd at Western Sydney Stadium against a young team ranked almost 100 places below them.

Earlier, Myong Yu Jong bagged a hat trick as three-time champions North Korea marked their first game at the continental competition since 2010 with a slick 3-0 win over Uzbekistan in the same group.

China beat South Korea in Mumbai four years ago to win their ninth Asian Cup and are the most successful team in the tournament’s history.

But they have struggled in recent times and are bidding to recreate their glory days under Australian coach Ante Milicic.

It was tougher than expected against a Bangladesh team that showed no fear and would have taken the lead but for a fine fingertip save by Chen Chen from Ritu Porna Chakma’s dipping shot.

Playing at a fast and furious pace, China created plenty of opportunities but had to wait until just before halftime to open their account when Wang’s long-range shot curled in.

Zhang added a second minutes later from outside the box to stun Bangladesh.

But the underdogs, coached by England’s Peter Butler, refused to lie down and admirably regrouped to prevent any more goals despite China’s constant threat.

North Korea were dominant against the Uzbeks, striking early to pile on the pressure, and there was no way back for a side that lost their starting goalkeeper to a neck injury after 10 minutes.

Midfielder Myong clinically finished on the turn in the sixth minute after a goalmouth scramble in front of a smattering of North Korean fans.

She doubled the lead with a penalty after Chae Un Yong was shoved over and made it 3-0 with another spot kick on 41 minutes, again planting the ball into the left-hand corner.

The second half was played almost exclusively in the Uzbek half, but they limited the damage by defending well.

One of Asia’s most successful women’s sides, North Korea are looking to replicate their titles from 2001, 2003 and 2008.

Their momentum from the 2000s was checked when they were banned from the 2015 World Cup qualifying for failed doping tests and they did not play any games from 2019 to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.