Karlsruher SC beat Arminia Bielefeld 2:1 in the opening round of the 2. Bundesliga on Saturday. The hosts took all three points at home, moving to five points from four matches.
M. Broschinski opened the scoring in the 35th minute to put Karlsruher ahead. S. Schreck picked up a yellow card in the 19th minute before being substituted on 46 minutes. D. Ofli also went off for a booking in the 45th minute, and was replaced at half-time alongside Schreck.
By then Arminia had adjusted their shape, but Karlsruher found another gear. Broschinski doubled the lead in the 78th minute, and M. Mehlem added a third just two minutes later in the 80th minute. R. Pinto Pedrosa came on for Karlsruher in the 78th minute, while T. Momuluh replaced an Arminia player on 79.
The match contained seven substitutions in total, with T. Handwerker and D. H. Zor both coming on for Karlsruher in the second half. T. Civeja collected a yellow card for Arminia in the 89th minute as the visitors tried to find a way back into the game.
Karlsruher dominated possession at 56 per cent and registered 89 attacks compared to 79 for the visitors. They took 20 shots, seven on target, while Arminia managed five shots on target from ten attempts. Expected goals favoured the hosts at 1.53 to 1.17.
Both sides remain in the bottom half after the first round. Karlsruher sit ninth with five points from four games, while Arminia are tenth on four points. The result ends a poor run for the hosts, who had lost three of their previous four matches including a heavy defeat at Hoffenheim.
