Fortuna Düsseldorf have taken the top spot in the 2nd Bundesliga with an impressive victory in a chasing duel.

Coach Daniel Thioune’s team won 3:1 (1:1) against Karlsruher SC to kick off Matchday 5 and climbed to first place, at least until Saturday. FC St. Pauli, on the other hand, lost 1:1 (0:0) at Eintracht Braunschweig and lost some ground.

In Düsseldorf, Fabian Schleusener (3rd) gave the visitors an early lead, but Fortuna responded through Yannik Engelhardt (14th) and a dream goal by Christos Tzolis (55th), plus an own goal by Marvin Wanitzek (57th). After their third win of the season, Düsseldorf are now ahead of Hamburger SV (10 points each). The North Germans play on Sunday (13.30/Sky) against Hansa Rostock (9), who are now in third place. Even on Saturday, however, several rivals can move past Fortuna.

St. Pauli (7 points), on the other hand, is in the upper midfield of the table for the time being. At least coach Fabian Hürzeler’s team ended its goal-less streak. After three 0-0 draws in a row, Elias Saad (59th) ended the drought, but Thorir Johann Helgason (80th) equalised for Braunschweig. A fourth 0:0 in a row would have been a record in the 2nd division.

In Düsseldorf, the game had just started when Schleusener scored a goal with a tap-in, a supposed offside position was disallowed by the VAR. Nevertheless, Fortuna immediately took control of the game and, with numerous opportunities, equalised before the break, Engelhardt taking advantage of a mistake by the KSC defence.

The hosts remained clearly superior after the change of ends, and Karlsruhe were lucky when Emmanuel Iyoha hit a crossbar in the 54th minute. Goalkeeper Patrick Drewes was then helpless against Tzolis’ shot: The newcomer cut inside from the left and scored into the corner. Only moments later, Wanitzek deflected a cross into his own goal.