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

By Canadian Press on September 21, 2025.

BERLIN (AP) — 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.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Ciarán Fahey, The Associated Press