When they met Royal Union Saint-Gilloise again, 1. FC Union Berlin narrowly avoided another bankruptcy in the round of 16 first leg of the Europa League on Thursday (March 9th, 2023). The third-placed player in the Bundesliga scored the goal against second-placed Belgium in the closing stages to make it 3-3 (1-1). This means that the Köpenickers have every chance of reaching the quarter-finals in the second leg in a week’s time.
Victor Boniface gave the visitors the lead with a deflected long-range shot (28′), but Josip Juranović was able to equalize before the break thanks to a well-placed free kick (42′). After half-time, Yorbe Vertessen scored the lead again for the Belgians (58th). Then Robin Knoche converted a hand penalty (69′) before Boniface again converted the guests’ third chance to score (72′). Substitute Sven Michel saved the Berliners all hopes of reaching the quarter-finals with his late goal (89th).
“We remain positive. It wasn’t all bad”, said Captain Christopher Trimmel on RTL +, but criticized individual mistakes – including his own. Central defender Robin Knoche also openly addressed the deficits: “We were too stupid with two and a half of the three goals we conceded. That shouldn’t happen to us, especially at home. In the end we could have done better.”
Unlucky Belgian leadership
The lead for the guests was unfortunate: Despite a good start for the Union, scoring chances remained scarce. In the driving snow of Berlin, Boniface took aim after half an hour from 20 meters to the left. Kevin Behrens tried to block the shot, but instead deflected it into an arc lamp that went in at a right angle, untenable for keeper Frederik Rønnow.
Union had to shake briefly, but did not lose its common thread overall. After a clear and rightly wrong offside goal by Behrens, the Berliners earned a free kick against the guests’ deep back four. Josip Juranović set the ball straight and made the Köpenick fans cheer: his direct attempt sailed into the net of the Saint-Gilloise goal to equalize.
Trimmel’s faux pas
Both teams missed promising chances after the break. Only when Union captain Christopher Trimmel made a catastrophic bad pass in midfield did the Belgians get their first shot in the second half of the game. And Vertessen did not miss this opportunity.
Once again, the “Iron” fought back into the game and managed to equalize with a penalty kick from Knoche, who, however, had to take the follow-up shot after Anthony Moris had parried first in the goal of the guests. But the relief of the capital city didn’t last long. Because Saint-Gilloise successfully completed another counterattack – it was only the third chance for the guests to score, which Boniface again coldly exploited.
Sven Michel makes Union cheer
With the never-ending support of the Berlin fans, Sven Michel, who had just come on as a substitute, scored the equalizer in the 89th minute. The Joker used a long ball with a powerful shot into the net. It was also Michel who shot the German team to victory in the second leg of the group stage.
The second leg in Belgium will kick off at 9 p.m. on March 16, 2023. Union will play at VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday (Sunday, 7.30 p.m., live ticker at sportschau.de).