2. Bundesliga: Skyttä stars as Kaiserslautern respond in style

Kaiserslautern produced an emphatic response to recent setbacks, beating Dynamo Dresden at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion this afternoon.

Torsten Lieberknecht’s side delivered a controlled and confident display, with Naatan Skyttä the standout performer as he contributed a goal and an assist in a much-needed 3-1 victory.

The hosts signalled their intent from the opening whistle, setting the tone for a dominant first half. Skyttä had a golden chance inside two minutes, bursting through on goal before hesitating at the decisive moment and allowing Tim Schreiber to smother the ball.

The Finnish midfielder quickly made amends. Fifteen minutes later, a floated cross was met by Dominik Hanslik, whose cushioned header fell perfectly for Skyttä to place a composed finish beyond Schreiber and open the scoring.

Kaiserslautern thought they had doubled their lead seven minutes after the opener when Hanslik found the net again, but VAR intervened and ruled the goal out after the ball struck Fabian Kunze’s hand on the way into the goal. Despite the setback, FCK maintained complete control, registering seven first-half shots while restricting Dresden to none, yet only one goal separated the sides at the break.

The pressure continued after the restart and soon brought reward. Just seven minutes into the second half, Marlon Ritter punished a poor clearance with a crisp strike into the top corner to make it 2-0. Skyttä, at the heart of everything, then produced a moment of magic on 70 minutes, weaving past three defenders before laying the ball on a plate for Mika Haas to tap into an empty net for Kaiserslautern’s third.

Dresden finally threatened with fifteen minutes remaining when Jakob Lemmer unleashed a stunning long-range effort to pull one back and offer Thomas Stamm’s side a glimmer of hope. They pushed forward with renewed urgency, but Kaiserslautern stayed organised and saw out the final phase to secure all three points.

It was a powerful and timely response in front of a sold-out Fritz-Walter-Stadion, lifting Kaiserslautern up to sixth place for now. Dresden’s brief winning run ends at two matches, though their spirited final push may offer something to build on as their relegation fight continues.