BERLIN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Robin Gosens scored against his former club as Schalke 04 claimed their first Bundesliga victory since returning to the top flight, beating Union Berlin 3-1 on Friday.
Both sides entered the third matchday still searching for a first league win after collecting one point from their opening two games, but Schalke quickly grew into the contest after an energetic start from Union.
Captain Kenan Karaman, making his first start of the season after recovering from a hip injury, fired over from distance before Adil Aouchiche was denied by Frederik Ronnow after breaking clear in the 20th minute.
Schalke's pressure paid off five minutes later when Soufiane El-Faouzi's cross was flicked on and former Union defender Gosens met the ball on the volley to score the promoted side's first Bundesliga goal since May 2023.
The visitors remained the more threatening team before halftime. Tom Rothe cleared an Aouchiche effort near the line, while Ronnow produced another strong save to keep out Junior Adamu.
Schalke doubled their advantage immediately after the restart as Aouchiche exchanged passes with Adamu and finished with the help of the crossbar in the 46th minute. An initial offside decision was overturned by VAR.
Union responded with their strongest spell, forcing Loris Karius into a save from Andras Schafer before Rothe headed against the crossbar.
The game was then interrupted when referee Timo Gerach suffered a calf injury and was replaced by fourth official Jarno Wienefeld.
Karius continued to frustrate the hosts, denying Rothe again in the 75th minute, while Marin Ljubicic struck the post as Union pushed for a way back.
Tim Skarke finally reduced the deficit in the sixth minute of stoppage time and almost leveled two minutes later, only for Karius to intervene again.
Instead, substitute Maximilian Wober settled the contest in the 13th minute of added time, finishing a quick counterattack to seal Schalke's first Bundesliga win in 1,225 days.
Union will next travel to Bayern Munich, while Schalke hosts SV Elversberg. ■
