Union Berlin narrowly but deservedly lost the catch-up game at FC Bayern Munich 0-1. During the away defeat, Union coach Nenad Bjelica was shown a red card after an attack on Munich’s Leroy Sané.
The 1. FC Union Berlin suffered a narrow 0-1 defeat at FC Bayern Munich in the catch-up game on the 13th Bundesliga matchday. The Iron Men were able to keep the score at zero in the first 45 minutes thanks to a compact defensive performance, but after just a few seconds in the second half, Raphael Guerreiro scored the deserved lead for the German record champions.
Union were unable to equalize afterward, but coach Nenad Bjelica was shown a red card in the 74th minute after he grabbed Bayern’s Leroy Sané twice in the face. With one catch-up game still to be played, Union is still three points ahead of relegation place 16.
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Bayern does not take advantage of field superiority
Already in the first few minutes the game took the expected shape: FC Bayern Munich had the ball, Union Berlin stood deep and moved in a disciplined 5-3-2, so that there were no dangerous spaces for the home team.
In the sixth minute, the Munich team still had a double chance – from a corner: FCU goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow saved both Matthijs de Ligt’s header and Dayot Upamecano’s follow-up shot. The Danish goalkeeper was also there in the eleventh minute for a well-placed long-range shot from Kingsley Coman. Until then, it was the famous one-goal game, as the Iron team didn’t get into any transitions and therefore didn’t set their own tone.
First luck for Union, then bad luck
In the minutes that followed, FC Bayern’s pressure eased somewhat, Union was able to move the game a little into midfield, but the record champions remained the team that clearly dominated the game with almost 80 percent possession of the ball. It wasn’t until the 23rd minute that Bayern appeared in front of the goal again, this time after a flat cross Coman put the ball just outside the right post from a few meters – luck for Union.
But bad luck in the 26th minute: Kevin Volland had to be replaced with an injury, and Kevin Behrens came on to replace him. But even the massive center forward couldn’t liven up Union’s offensive game. Only Munich played.
But in vain, the Union, which defended deeply and closely, didn’t allow much for the 45 minutes, even if they weren’t able to relieve the pressure going forward. The iron bulwark held, even if goalkeeper Rönnow wobbled again in stoppage time. So it went into the locker room goalless.
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Bayern shocks Union in the 33rd second
And suddenly it worked: After just 33 seconds in the second half, FC Bayern took the 1-0 lead. First Harry Kane hit the post in the penalty area, but then Raphael Guerreiro confidently converted the follow-up shot into the top right corner of the goal. Union’s match plan to keep the score zero was therefore no longer applicable.
Shortly afterwards, Union goalkeeper Rönnow had to save again, he scratched a corner that was extended from the goal post off the line. The first quarter of an hour of the second half once again belonged solely to the home team; Union primarily lacked the playful resources to make the encounter more balanced. The ball was gone too quickly, especially from the halfway line, for Köpenick to develop an attack.
Coach Bjelica reacted and brought Jerome Roussillon and Andras Schäfer into the game for Robin Gosens and Benedict Hollerbach in the 64th minute. In the following minutes, Union calmed the game through longer periods of possession, which took the offensive pressure off the opponent. However, the Berliners still lacked a brilliant idea for the future. It wasn’t until the 72nd minute that Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s goal became really dangerous for the first time, but both Behrens and Roussillon were denied by the national goalkeeper after a quick counterattack.
Bjelica the fuses are blowing
Then events came to a head. During a throw-in in the 74th minute, Union coach Bjelica clashed with Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sané and grabbed the Munich player twice in the face, for which the Croatian was shown a red card and was sent off. Bjelica could hardly be calmed down in the stands either. A scene that will have an aftermath.
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His team was unable to exert any offensive pressure in the final minutes. The substitutions of Brenden Aaronson and new signing Chris Bedia didn’t change that. FC Bayern were more likely to get a 2-0 win. But both Leon Goretzka (81st), Kane and Thomas Müller (85th) missed another goal. The encounter ended close but in line with performance with a 1-0 home win for Munich.
Voices about the game
Christopher Trimmel: “I only saw a few pushes. That’s part of football, I don’t know whether you have to give a red card right away. I would react a little cooler. There were a lot of emotions in it – the important thing is that you feel can shake hands after the game.”
Nenad Bjelica (on Sky): “Sané pushed me, then I reacted stupidly. That’s not okay, it can’t be tolerated. I understand the red card. I will only apologize to my own team, but not to Sané, who wanted to provoke me in my space.”
Leon Goretzka: “It was a very solid performance from us. Of course we would have liked the second goal, so it got heated again, but it is important that we survive games like this. We didn’t allow anything to go backwards.”
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