Union Berlin have moved up to seventh in the German Bundesliga table following a 1-0 win over Kingsley Ehizibue's FC Cologne at An der Alten Försterei on Friday night.

In a keenly contested first half that ended goalless, the visitors dominated possession in Berlin, but Nigeria international Taiwo Awoniyi had a chance to break the deadlock as early as the second minute when a through ball from Becker found him but his control let him down.

Three minutes into the second half, the former Liverpool striker made history when he scored his seventeenth Bundesliga goal as a Union Berlin player, putting him on his own at the top of the club's all-time top scorer list.

The 2013 U17 World Cup winner intercepted a back pass from Cologne skipper Jonas Hector to the goalkeeper and slammed the ball past the advancing Schwabe.

In doing so, Awoniyi surpassed Max Kruse as Union Berlin's top goalscorer in Bundesliga history.

The Super Eagles star notched five goals in his debut season with Union Berlin and has tallied twelve goals this term.

Awoniyi's twelve Bundesliga goals in 2021-2022 is already his best return in a single season since he turned professional, surpassing the eleven he netted in the Belgian First Division A during his loan spell at Royal Excel Mouscron in the second half of the 2018-2019 campaign.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel