Union Berlin can still win games: after sixteen games without a win, Champions League participants beat Borussia Mönchengladbach. In an exciting basement summit, promoted team Heidenheim scores important points.
1. FC Union Berlin – Borussia Mönchengladbach 3:1 (1:0)
Union Berlin ended its dramatic winless streak on coach Nenad Bjelica’s Bundesliga debut. After 16 games without any success, the Iron team beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 (1-0) on Saturday and sent a strong signal in the relegation battle of the Bundesliga with a courageous performance.
Kevin Volland (23rd minute) with a hand penalty, Benedict Hollerbach (50th) and Mikkel Kaufmann (75th) with their first Union goals scored the goals for the dominant hosts in the sold-out stadium at the Alte Försterei with 22,012 spectators. Alassane Pléa (77th) could only shorten the score for Borussia. Good mood for the real duel
Under new coach Bjelica, Union left last place in the Bundesliga, at least for one night. The people of Köpenick could hardly have celebrated a better mood for the last Champions League game on Tuesday against the great Real Madrid. The Gladbachers were unable to carry the momentum from the cup win against VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday and remained winless in their fourth league away game in a row. Six points ahead of Union is not a big cushion.
Constantly put pressure on, play offensively. These were Bjelica’s instructions to his team. After three and a half months of maximum sadness, that sounded like almost foolhardy wishful thinking. But, lo and behold. After 120 minutes of the cup, Gladbach played along dutifully and tiredly, and the Eisernen showed by far their best first half since those August days, when Union were at the top of the table after two match days under long-term coach Urs Fischer. First chances thanks to Hollerbach
Hollerbach worked diligently on his image as the first big winner of the coaching change. Under Fischer he was a permanent reservist, now he was a cheeky driver. In his second start in the league, after dribbling (11th/19th), he couldn’t find a taker with his crosses. The chance was even better for Kevin Behrens (20th), but the center forward lofted the ball over the goal.
After a cross from Robin Gosens, Volland Luca Netz headed the ball from behind onto his outstretched arm. Volland safely converted the penalty to take the lead – the first for Union in the Alte Försterei since that 4-1 win against Mainz 105 days ago. The score was good for the team. Borussia was allowed practically nothing. Gosens (36th) with a header and Jérôme Roussillon (45th + 3) with a direct shot could have increased. Bjelica cheers along
20 seconds had been played in the second half when Union launched the first counterattack. The toe of Gladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas prevented the second Union goal when Volland finished. Hollerbach then did that with a tight low shot from the second row. The cheering images documented the huge relief. Right in the middle of the crowd of players: coach Bjelica. Another summer transfer came in Kaufmann, who was unable to make any impact under Fischer. Pléa’s goal didn’t change anything about the first Union party since August.
VfL Wolfsburg – SC Freiburg 0:1 (0:0)
The sporting crisis at VfL Wolfsburg is coming to a head. Despite the best chances, the ambitious Volkswagen club lost 0-1 (0-0) against a harmless SC Freiburg. Michael Gregoritsch took advantage of one of only two Freiburg chances in the game in the 74th minute. In terms of the course of the game, the exploitation of opportunities and the resultless dominance, from Wolfsburg’s point of view this next setback was reminiscent of the cup exit at Borussia Mönchengladbach on Tuesday evening. There, Wolfsburg were eliminated in the round of 16 with a goal in extra time.
In the Bundesliga, VfL has only won one of the last eight games. The declared season goal of European Cup qualification can no longer be achieved in a competition and is already seven points away in the league. So far, however, the club management has backed the controversial coach Niko Kovac.
In front of 20,146 spectators, Wolfsburg continued against Freiburg in exactly the same way as they had left off four days earlier in Mönchengladbach: they missed even those opportunities where it is apparently harder to miss the goal than to hit it. In the 4th minute, Mattias Svanberg hit the crossbar after a nice one-two with Jona Wind. 20 minutes later, Lovro Majer shot over the goal from six meters, completely unchallenged (24th). The 25-year-old Croatian came from Stade Rennes in France for around 25 million euros before the season.
And one of the areas of attack that coach Niko Kovac offers many fans and apparently also parts of the team is: VfL’s complete lack of playful development, although the squad was strengthened in the summer with several talented offensive players such as Vaclav Cerny, Tiago Tomas and especially Majer became.
Kovac accepted one point of criticism for this. Because the constant and sometimes wild change of tactics and personnel is over for now. The former Bayern coach also had his team play in a 3-4-2-1 system against Freiburg. Captain Maximilian Arnold was back in central midfield in his 400th competitive game for VfL.
And so for a long time Wolfsburg didn’t play like a team that would like to get rid of a supposedly unpleasant coach. At the back, VfL didn’t allow anything except for the 0-1 lead and a remarkable shot from Matthias Ginter (18′). And for at least an hour he played forward the way Kovac likes to see it: straightforward, running intensively and, if possible, always playing the ball deep.
The big shortcoming was the exploitation of chances and, as the game length increased, the creation of chances in general. In the 54th minute, the Swede Svanberg only hit the side netting after preparation by Ridle Baku (54th). After that, Freiburg retreated further and further. VfL could no longer find a way through this defensive bar. SC coach Christian Streich had warned about Wolfsburg before the game. “When there’s pressure on the kettle, it steams. And then you have to make sure you don’t burn yourself when you lift the lid,” he said. In fact, VfL’s crisis continues to boil over.
Werder Bremen – FC Augsburg 2:0 (1:0)
Werder Bremen has achieved the longed-for liberation in the relegation battle of the Bundesliga. With the deserved 2-0 (1-0), the Hanseatic League ended FC Augsburg’s winning streak of six games without defeat and caused a collective sigh of relief among their supporters. With their headers, Niklas Stark (39th) and Marvin Ducksch (65th) led Bremen to their first win after four games, including two recent defeats. Their success gave them some breathing room out of the danger zone. Coach Jess Thorup’s disappointing guest team in Bremen is still in the middle of the table despite the defeat after their recent series of successes.
Both teams neutralized each other for long periods in the first half. The game was more like a game of patience. It was particularly tight in the midfield. Dangerous scenes were rare in and around both penalty areas. Jens Stage (10th) tested Augsburg goalkeeper Finn Dahmen for the first time with a shot from 18 meters. Bremen goalkeeper Michael Zetterer (28th) caused the most excitement in the Werder penalty area when he stepped over the ball. FCA striker Phillip Tietz lofted the ball over Zetterer, but also past the goal.
Werder gained more control of the game after half an hour. Mitchell Weiser (39th) failed again after a corner from Ducksch with a deflected shot against the good Dahmen. Stark used the subsequent corner – again by Ducksch – with a header to score his first goal of the season and take the half-time lead. The defender moved into the starting line-up for captain Marco Friedl. Friedl had to miss the game at short notice due to an injury.
After the break, Bremen’s superiority became even clearer in front of 41,000 spectators in the sold-out Weserstadion. Above all, the offensive forces Ducksch, Rafael Borré and Romano Schmid created more and more promising situations. Stage (53′) again after a Ducksch corner and Schmid (57′) missed from good positions. After a cross from Weiser, new national player Ducksch was there (65th) and scored his sixth goal of the season.
There was no sign of the Augsburgers. Werder’s three-man chain with the very good Stark, Anthony Jung and Milos Veljkovic had the eight-time goalscorer Ermedin Demirovic, among others, firmly under control. In the final quarter of an hour, Bremen switched to counterattacking. If they had played them more consistently, a higher victory would have been possible. Stage and Senne Lynen missed their best chances shortly before the end.
1. FC Heidenheim – SV Darmstadt 98 3:2 (1:0)
The impressive strength after dead balls gave 1. FC Heidenheim an important victory on the way to staying in the league. In the 3:2 (1:0) win against SV Darmstadt 98 on Saturday afternoon, all FCH goals came from set pieces kicked by Jan-Niklas Beste. With their fourth win this season, coach Frank Schmidt’s team extends their lead over the Lilies to five points.
In a hard-fought duel between the two promoted teams, the strong FCH, who scored 13 of their 14 points at home, celebrated after goals from Jan Schöppner (42nd minute) and captain Patrick Mainka (69th/71st minute). In the meantime, Darmstadt had turned the game around. First Tim Skarke equalized at his old stomping ground (52′), then the guests benefited from an own goal from Lennard Maloney (60′). There was still a question mark over the US international before kick-off due to an ankle injury. But Schmidt turned on the 24-year-old midfield engine.
At first, Maloney and his teammates just ran after the ball. Oscar Vilhelmsson broke into the penalty area under pressure, but FCH goalkeeper Kevin Müller raised his fist just in time (10th). FCH coach Schmidt and Darmstadt’s Torsten Lieberknecht played together in the German U20 national team and have been good friends ever since. On the field, however, things were less friendly. Heidenheim’s goalscorer Tim Kleindienst clashed with Klaus Gjasula, and referee Daniel Schlager left it at a warning after the verbal battle.
The Heidenheimers repeatedly had misunderstandings both in defense and in forward movement. So Schöppner decided to pass instead of finishing himself, and a little later goalkeeper Müller played a ball directly into Vilhelmsson’s feet. However, the Swede couldn’t find a teammate. The guests, who had changed five positions, had more of the game in the first half, won more duels and fired more shots. Nevertheless, shortly before the break, the majority of the 15,000 spectators in the sold-out Voith Arena cheered. Schöppner provided the best sixth assist.
“Our games are always close,” Lieberknecht predicted the course of the game. The Hessian coach was correct in his assumption, because an open exchange of blows developed. Especially since his team got going well after the restart. First Skarke scored, then Maloney unfortunately maneuvered the ball into his own goal. The unlucky guy was replaced a little later and was then able to thank Beste and Mainka that his mishap had no consequences. Because after two more Beste corners, the central defender, who had moved up, scored within two minutes. Thanks to this double blow, Heidenheim remained undefeated in three home games in a row for the first time in their young Bundesliga history.