Kleindienst scores again as Gladbach beats St. Pauli 2-0 in Bundesliga

MÖNCHENGLADBACH, Germany (AP) — Tim Kleindienst scored again for Borussia Mönchengladbach to continue its recent good run with a 2-0 win over St. Pauli in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Alassane Plea got the home team off to a promising start in the 13th minute when he struck Marvin Friedrich’s header from a corner past Nikola Vasilj in the St. Pauli goal.

Kleindienst effectively sealed the result before the break with a chip over Vasilj. His celebrations were cut short by the offside flag, but a VAR check confirmed he was on for his seventh goal of the season.

St. Pauli only threatened at the end of the game, with Gladbach holding on for its fourth straight win at home. Gerardo Seoane’s team moved sixth, 12 points behind league leader Bayern Munich after 11 rounds.

It’s not the first time the 29-year-old Kleindienst has been decisive for Gladbach this season since joining from Heidenheim in the summer, and his performances caught the eye of Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.

Kleindienst made his Germany debut last month in a 2-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina. He has since made three more appearances for the national team, while scoring twice in the return game against Bosnia-Herzegovina last week.

Earlier, Mainz defeated promoted Holstein Kiel 3-0 away.

Kiel remained second from bottom, while Pauli, the other promoted side, was third from bottom and three points above Kiel.

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