2. Bundesliga: Emphatic first half enough for Hertha to secure convincing victory over Heidenheim

A truly dominant first half saw Sebastian Grønning, Marten Winkler and Deyovaisio Zeefuik all find the net to give Stefan Leitl’s men a commanding three-goal lead at the break. They eventually saw off a brief second-half comeback from the visitors, with Oluwaseun Adewumi wrapping things up late on to secure two impressive wins from two at the start of the season.

Hertha got off to the perfect start just two minutes in when Winkler delivered a free kick from the left-hand side. His low ball was met by Grønning at the near post, with the striker guiding a diving header past Frank Feller to stun the visitors early on.

Hertha continued to apply the pressure, dominating possession and pressing high to win the ball back almost instantly, preventing Heidenheim from establishing any sort of structure or gaining a foothold in the game.

Winkler got on the scoresheet himself after 26 minutes with a spectacular solo effort. The winger picked up the ball near the halfway line before beating two players and advancing towards goal, eventually unleashing a fierce strike from just outside the area that beat Feller and nestled into the bottom-right corner to make it 2-0.

Hertha’s dream first half continued just nine minutes later through Zeefuik. A simple long ball over the top from Winkler caught the Heidenheim defence napping, allowing the full-back to advance into the box before calmly lobbing the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper and into the net to cap a near-perfect opening 45 minutes at 3-0.

Heidenheim started the second half on top and pulled one back after just four minutes. A deep free kick from Mikkel Kaufmann evaded everyone before reaching Jan Schöppner at the back post, where he was left completely unmarked to tap into an empty net after Marius Gersbeck had come off his line to punch clear.

The visitors had another huge chance shortly after the hour mark when Hertha were cheaply dispossessed in their own half, allowing Heidenheim to launch a three-on-one counter-attack. Marcel Costly found himself through on goal, but Gersbeck slid in to force him wide, giving the Hertha defenders enough time to recover and clear the danger.

Hertha eventually settled after Heidenheim’s spell of pressure, with the introduction of Adewumi helping to turn the tide back in the hosts’ favour. The Burnley loanee repeatedly got in behind the tiring Heidenheim defence, forcing the visitors to retreat deeper into their own half.

A red card for Zeefuik following an elbow to the chest of a Heidenheim player offered the visitors a late glimmer of hope. However, just minutes later, Hertha broke three-on-one from a corner, with Josip Brekalo eventually laying the ball off for Adewumi to calmly finish past Feller.

The late goal capped a fine cameo from the substitute and sealed an impressive 4-1 victory for the home side, ensuring Hertha maintain their perfect start to the season.