2. Bundesliga: Darmstadt go top with dominant win over Kaiserslautern | OneFootball

Darmstadt started the game knowing a win would put them top of the 2. Bundesliga for the first time since matchday 7. Kaiserslautern were also hoping to make waves in the promotion race, and they won the reverse fixture 3-1 with a late comeback.

The smoke coming from pyrotechnics delayed the game at the start, but that didn’t affect the hosts one bit. Luca Marseiler won a penalty kick for the second game in a row when his pace was too much for Paul Joly to handle.

Like the previous week, Fraser Hornby tucked home the resulting penalty to put Darmstadt ahead. The Scotsman scored both goals in the come-from-behind draw in the capital against Hertha Berlin, and he had the chance to do the same inside the first ten minutes when his close-range effort narrowly missed the target.

Nonetheless, the 26-year-old added an assist to his fourth goal of 2026 at the hour mark. On his first start of the season, Fynn Lakenmacher scored his first-ever goal at this level. The former 1860 Munich striker took his opportunity in the absence of the injured Isac Lidberg.

Darmstadt didn’t miss their top scorer as they added the third before the half-time break. Kai Klefisch also ended his goalscoring drought with a free header from Sascha Richter’s corner-kick delivery.

The visitors had two clear-cut chances inside the first five minutes after the break, but half-time substitute Norman Bassette was unable to bring them back in the game. At the other end, Hornby missed a one-on-one chance in an end-to-end start to the second-half.

Including more missed chances by Hornby, Darmstadt continued to be the better side, but they were unable to add to their lead to assert their dominance. Marcel Schuhen made a great stop in the 90th minute to seal his ninth clean sheet of the season. 

Marseiler scored in injury-time with a smart finish to make it Darmstadt's biggest win of the season. Florian Kohfeldt’s side were in fourth place before kickoff, but the comfortable win saw them go top of the division for the first time since matchday seven.

The new league leaders will not face a team from the top half of the table in their next four matches, although Schalke’s five-game winless run shows how the league remains unpredictable. After their heaviest defeat of the season, Kaiserslautern will hope to return to winning ways when they entertain bottom-placed Greuther Fürth next week.