Monchengladbach's Marcus Thuram takes knee after scoring

Frenchman scores twice in 4-1 win over Union Berlin

Moenchengladbach's French forward Marcus Thuram takes a knee to show solidarity with protesters in America outraged by the death of George Floyd, who was killed in a violent police incident in Minneapolis last week. AFP

Union Berlin's Swedish forward Sebastian Andersson, second left, celebrates after scoring to reduce Borussia Monchengladbach. AFP

Union Berlin's Rafal Gikiewicz in action against Borussia Moenchengladbach at Borussia-Park. Reuters

A TV camera operator wears a face protection mask, surrounded by cardboards with photos of Moenchengladbach fans on the stands. AFP

Borussia Moenchengladbach's Marcus Thuram celebrates scoring their second goal. Reuters

Moenchengladbach's German defender Matthias Ginter, left, and Union Berlin's German forward Marius Buelter vie for the ball. AFP

Cardboards with photos of Moenchengladbach fans are seen on the stands prior to the . The banners on the stands read: "For Borussia. Against ghost games!" AFP

Moenchengladbach's French forward Marcus Thuram scores to make it 2-0. AFP

Cardboards with photos of Moenchengladbach fans are seen on the stands during warm up. AFP

Union Berlin's Polish goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz reacts after conceding the first goal. AFP

Moenchengladbach's French forward Marcus Thuram, second left, scores. AFP

Moenchengladbach's Algerian defender Ramy Bensebaini (R) and Union Berlin's Danish forward Marcus Ingvartsen vie for the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match Borussia Moenchengladbach v Union Berlin in Moenchengladbach, western Germany, on 31 May, 2020. RESTRICTIONS: DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO / AFP / POOL / Martin Meissner / RESTRICTIONS: DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO

Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea combined to score three goals as Borussia Monchengladbach crushed Union Berlin 4-1 on Sunday to reclaim third place in the Bundesliga with five matches left.

Thuram, 22, headed in at the far post from fellow Frenchman Plea's cross in the 41st minute after Florian Neuhaus had put the hosts ahead in the 17th minute with Gladbach's 3,000th Bundesliga goal.

Thuram went down on his knee in memory of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minnesota after a white police officer knelt on his neck, sparking widespread protests in the United States.

It was the latest show of Bundesliga solidarity with the current protests sweeping the United States.

Schalke's US midfielder Weston McKennie wore an armband in Saturday's defeat to Werder Bremen bearing the words "Justice for George".

Sebastian Andersson briefly cut the deficit for the visitors five minutes after the restart.

But the hosts, playing fluid football in front of empty stands filled with cardboard cutouts of fans, were far superior, constantly finding space to attack.

Thuram, the son of 1998 World Cup winner Lilian Thuram, grabbed his second goal on the hour, tapping in at the far post after Plea threaded another pass through the Union defence.

Plea turned scorer himself with a well-timed left-footed shot to join Thuram on 10 goals this season and put Gladbach back in the mix for a Champions League spot with their first win in three games.

"We did what we set out to do," Gladbach coach Marco Rose said. "When we had possession we were dominant even though we made one or two mistakes more than we should. But we scored four good goals and I am obviously very satisfied with the performance and the result."

The Bundesliga became the first major sports league to restart two weeks ago after a break of more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Foals, who next travel to Freiburg, are third in the standings on 56 points, ahead of Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference. RB Leipzig, fifth on 55 points, take on Cologne on Monday.

Promoted Union have now gone six games without a win to drop down to 14th, four points above the relegation play-off spot.

Bayern Munich lead the standings on 67 points following their 5-0 demolition of Fortuna Duesseldorf on Saturday.