Union Berlin takes revenge on RB Leipzig for the bitter cup end. With the 2:1 (0:0) last minute success, the Köpenickers are still involved in the fight for the European Cup places.
Substitute match winners Sven Michel and Kevin Behrens happily hugged each other before the late bloomers from Union Berlin celebrated the all-important last-minute win with the fans who had traveled with them. The Köpenickers managed to get revenge for the bitter cup defeat during the week with a deserved 2-1 (0-0) win at RB Leipzig. In the fight for the Europa League places, Union now has the best cards.
“I think it’s a deserved win. We didn’t allow anything in the first half,” said Berlin’s Niko Gießelmann after the final whistle sky: “A game like this shows the mentality of the team.” Michel, who came on shortly before his goal, found similar words: “I’m overjoyed,” said the 31-year-old: “As a substitute, you imagine it the same way.”
Only a few seconds after being substituted on, Michel (86th) scored the deserved equalizer. Behrens (89th) then completed the win against tired Leipzig just three minutes later.
Yussuf Poulsen had previously given Leipzig (46th) the lead. Meanwhile, RB is still at 54 points in the table and has to tremble again for the premier class ticket three games before the end. The Saxons continue next Thursday (9 p.m. in the live ticker) in the semi-final first leg of the Europa League against Glasgow Rangers.
“It’s a deserved win for Union,” said RB coach Tedesco sky: “They wanted it more than we did. They were more aggressive and lively.”
Union turns game late
In front of 45,770 spectators, Leipzig, in particular, began with difficulty. As in the cup game, Union initially took the initiative. After a cross from Sheraldo Becker from the left, Taiwo Awoniyi (2nd) forced RB goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi to make his first save early on with a header.
Only towards the middle of the first round did RB shift the game more into the Union half without finding dangerous allusions in depth. The Berliners ran the spaces in this phase in a great way, so that Leipzig had no real chance to score in the first round and star striker Christopher Nkunku was practically not a factor to date.
And Union lurked. First Grischa Prömel (45th) failed at Gulacsi, before captain Christopher Trimmel (45th + 2) hit the crossbar with a powerful shot from around 20 meters.
After the break, Leipzig came out of the cabin with a lot of steam – and executed mercilessly. Nkunku made a good impact on the left, while his cross was initially blocked by Prömel, Poulsen sinking the rebound coldly.
Union continued to run afterwards and was unlucky. When trying to clear the penalty area, Leipzig’s Nordi Mukiele (59′) hit Gießelmann in the leg, but according to the video images, referee Daniel Schlager decided not to call a penalty. Mukiele (73rd) later shot the post for RB from an acute angle. But then Michel and Behrens came up trumps.
RB Leipzig vs. Union Berlin: The data for the game
