Jordan Pefok fires Union Berlin back to first in the Bundesliga

No Isco no problemUnion Berlin moved back to the top of the Bundesliga after beating Mainz 21 days after its bold move to sign former Real Madrid star Isco Alarcoacuten fell apartAmerican forward Jordan Pefok scored late to fire Union two points clear of Bayern Munich and Borussia DortmundUnion supporters and the team jumped up and down as the fans chanted Take Bayerns lederhosen off and sung about leading the leagueUnion which is playing only its fourth season in Germanys topflight led the Bundesliga for seven weeks earlier this seasonFew expected the club to reclaim first place even if it is only for one night once Bayern took over in the 13th round But Bayern has drawn its last three league games since the winter break while Union keeps winningFour or five years ago we were in the second division middle of the table and now were at the very top of the first division Crazy Union fan Ben Schulz told The Associated PressPefok came on as a substitute for opening goalscorer Kevin Behrens in the 79th minute Five minutes later he scored his first goal since September to end his 14match scoreless streak and set off wild celebrations around Stadion An der Alten FoumlrstereiDortmund routed 10man Freiburg 51 to move to third behind Bayern on goal difference after its fourth straight win in 2023Bayern visits Wolfsburg on Sunday when the 10time defending champion can reclaim first placeUNION FLYINGUnion has racked up five wins across all competitions in 2023 including its German Cup win over Wolfsburg on TuesdayThat came hours after the move to sign Isco broke down a disagreement that seemed to linger for Mainzs visit as the game became mired in midfield with few highlights It was arguably crying out for a creative player like IscoUnion emerged with more intent after the breakMainz was given a lifeline when Paul Seguin was penalized through VAR for handball Former Union forward Marcus Ingvartsen equalized from the spot in the 78thPefok and Morten Thorsby came on a minute later and combined to lift Union to the topHALLERS TIMELY GOALForward Seacutebastien Haller scored his first goal for Dortmund in his fourth appearance since returning from treatment for testicular cancerMuch too late Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said We would have liked for him to score in July or August thats what we all wanted when we signed him in the summerAlso readMessis goal helps French leader PSG beat Toulouse 21Haller needed two operations and chemotherapy following his diagnosis in July two weeks after he joined from Ajax He made his first appearance for Dortmund on Jan 22Dortmund was helped on Saturday by the early dismissal of Freiburgs Kiliann Sildillia sent off for his second yellow card after just 16 minutesNico Schlotterbeck scored against his former team from a narrow angle after a corner in the 26thBut Dortmund missed further chances and Lucas Houmller equalized with Freiburgs first real attack just before the breakKarim Adeyemi restored Dortmunds lead after the break then Hallers moment came when Raphaeumll Guerreiro crossed for his first Dortmund goalJulian Brandt added another on a counterattack and Gio Reyna wrapped it up by scoring in his third straight matchFreiburg coach Christian Streich was sent off in the 77th for complaining about the referees decisionsAlso Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Hertha Berlin 30 Cologne drew with Leipzig 00 Bochum defeated Hoffenheim 52 and Borussia Moumlnchengladbach drew with lastplaced Schalke 00This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever