2. Bundesliga: Elversberg dominate ten-man Arminia | OneFootball

A brace from Lukas Petkov either side of Marvin Mehlem’s red card put the hosts firmly in control, before Amara Condé added a third to seal the result. Christopher Lannert’s late effort proved nothing more than a consolation for Arminia.

Elversberg asserted themselves early and quickly took control of proceedings, leaving Arminia struggling to gain any foothold. Inside the opening half hour, the hosts had already registered five attempts on goal to the visitors’ none, striking the woodwork on multiple occasions as they pushed for an opener.

Their pressure finally paid off in the 38th minute. Tom Zimmerschied surged down the left and picked out Luca Schnellbacher, who laid the ball off perfectly for Petkov. The Bulgarian made no mistake, curling a superb effort from the edge of the box past the static Jonas Kersken to give Elversberg a deserved lead at the break.

Arminia’s task became significantly harder just five minutes into the second half when Marvin Mehlem was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Schnellbacher, leaving Mitch Kniat’s side with a mountain to climb.

Elversberg continued to dictate the tempo and doubled their advantage in the 69th minute through Petkov once again. Picking up the ball on the right, he drove forward before cutting inside and bending a fine strike into the far corner, leaving Kersken with no chance.

The hosts remained relentless and effectively put the game beyond doubt with 15 minutes remaining. Schnellbacher was again involved, this time teeing up substitute Amara Condé, who took a touch before calmly slotting home to make it 3-0.

Arminia did manage to pull one back in the 84th minute as Christopher Lannert drove in from the right and fired a deflected effort past Nicolas Kristof. However, it did little to change the outcome.

Elversberg saw out the closing stages with ease, sealing a deserved 3-1 victory that temporarily lifts them to the top of the table. Bielefeld, meanwhile, remain 15th, with both Münster and Kiel still to play.