Vuskovic scores once more, Takai makes European debut
Mon 12 January 2026, 15:40|
Tottenham Hotspur
Luka Vuskovic scored once more for loan side Hamburg and Kota Takai made his debut for Borussia Mönchengladbach - his first appearance since moving to Europe - as the Bundesliga returned from it’s winter break.
Beginning with Luka, the centre-back made the perfect start to the second half of the campaign, opening the scoring for Hamburg after 48 minutes with his third goal of the season.
Unfortunately, just three minutes after taking the lead, they were reduced to ten men. Hamburg defender Daniel Elfadli received a second yellow card for a foul on Freiburg striker Lucas Höler in the penalty area, allowing Vincenzo Grifo to level proceedings for the hosts from the penalty spot.
Despite a strong defensive display with ten players, where Vuskovic showed off his impressive aerial ability once more by winning 71% of his aerial duels, Merlin Polzin’s side fell to a late defeat as Igor Matanovic’s strike from close range on 83 minutes pushed all three points Freiburg’s way.
Vuskovic, who was voted as the Bundesliga’s Player of the Season so far last week for a standout first half of his loan spell that also saw the Croatian claim multiple Rookie of the Month accolades on top of the league’s Goal of the Year award, ticked off another milestone in Saturday’s match. With his goal, the defender has become the second youngest player (18 years, 320 days) to score three goals for the club behind Spurs legend Heung-Min Son (18 years, 135 days).
Elsewhere, Kota Takai made his first appearance for Mönchengladbach since joining the German side on loan at the beginning of January, coming on as a substitute in their 4-0 home win over Augsburg.
Kota was introduced for his debut in the 72nd minute, 11 minutes after Haris Tabakovic scored his second to increase the home side’s lead to four goals. He played the final 18 minutes of the game plus four minutes of stoppage time.
The next round of Bundesliga fixtures is scheduled for midweek, with Vuskovic’s Hamburg hosting fourth-placed Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday (13 January) before Mönchengladbach travel to TSG Hoffenheim, who sit sixth, on Wednesday (14 January) - both 7.30pm (UK) kick-offs.
