Bundesliga

Union Berlin – Borussia Dortmund 2:0: In the style of a top team! FCU deservedly wins in the top game

Published

2 years ago

October 16, 2022

1. FC Union Berlin won the top game against Borussia Dortmund 2-0 (2-0) and thus defended the lead in the Bundesliga. After a very weak first half, BVB is only in the middle of the league.

Jannik Haberer scored the goals for Unioon Berlin, first after a mistake by BVB keeper Gregor Kobel (8th), then with a brilliant long-range shot (21st).
For Union Berlin it was the seventh win in the tenth game of the season.
In the table, the Irons defend the top of the table and are now seven points ahead of BVB with 23 points.
After his fourth defeat, he is only in eighth place – and now has a negative goal difference of 13:14.
Marco Reus celebrated his comeback at BVB after almost a month’s injury break. In the derby against Schalke 04 (1-0) on September 17, he tore the lateral ligament in his ankle.
In the DFB Cup, Union meets 1. FC Heidenheim at home on Wednesday evening. BVB has to travel to Hannover 96 on the same day.

Union Berlin – Borussia Dortmund: The analysis

In order to tackle the league leaders away from home, Edin Terzic switched to a back three in defense – for the first time this season and for the first time since March 2021 against FC Bayern. Aim: to create a superior number in central defense against the home side’s double leadership.

However, the measure paralyzed their own offensive game: The double sixes Emre Can and Salih Özcan were almost invisible in the build-up, Jude Bellingham was completely in the air in front of it. BVB played extremely sluggishly and, above all, wide when in possession of the ball.

BVB grades: Grade 5 for Kobel and four others! Just one in normal form

1/17

After a poor performance, BVB deservedly lost 2-0 at Union Berlin. In addition to keeper Kobel, who initiated the bankruptcy with his buck, some other Dortmunders also caught a black day. The grades and individual reviews.

2/17

GREGOR KOBEL: Head somewhere else for the first few minutes. First uncertain against Schöfer (5th), then with the blackout before 0: 1 when he slipped (8th). No chance at 0.2 (21st). Strong against Baumgartl (56th). grade: 5

3/17

NIKLAS SÜLE: The safest and clearly the most creative of the three central defenders in the game opening. Played more passes in the final period than his two partners combined (23). An all-round solid performance, also as a right-back. Note 3.

4/17

MATS HUMMELS: Tried in vain to calm the game down at the beginning. Was a little too easy to boil off from Jordan before 2-0, even if he wasn’t the main culprit. Very attentive to this in other situations. Grade: 4.5.

5/17

NICO SCHLOTTERBECK: Slowly on the ball. It often took a moment too long before he found a teammate. Important tackle against Jordan (31st). Hardly any more demanded in the second half. Grade: 4.5.

6/17

THOMAS MEUNIER: Completely invisible except for a cross in the first half. There was very little activity on his site. In addition with numerous ball losses (16). Stayed in the cabin. grade: 5

7/17

JUDE BELLINGHAM: Got the attacking part in midfield again, but didn’t have nearly the impact of the past few weeks. A little better grip after the break, but still unlucky. grade: 5

8/17

EMRE CAN: Gave the deep six, played a major role in the partly unstructured build-up. Watched from time to time without doing anything, rarely found himself in the duels. Could have made it 1-0 early (7th). grade: 5

9/17

SALIH ÖZCAN: Had little access and struggled against the compact midfield of the hosts. Fell victim to the change after the change of sides because Edin Terzic was concerned about offensive power. Grade: 4.5.

10/17

RAPHAEL GUERREIRO: Offensively unusually passive in the first 45 minutes, which was also due to Berlin’s strong right side with Trimmel and Becker. Tried hard in the second section but never got dangerous. Grade: 4.5.

11/17

YOUSSOUFA MOUKOKO: Compared to his strike partner, he dropped more often to create gaps. That only worked to a limited extent. He lacked penetrating power. Only caused serious danger once (80th). Grade: 4.5.

12/17

KARIM ADEYEMI: Often dodged to the left, but rarely used his speed. Unnecessarily playful when losing the ball before the 0:2. Substituted at the break. grade: 5

13/17

JULIAN BRANDT: Entered the place for Adeyemi (46th) and lined up on the right flank. More central after Hazard’s substitution and became more active there. But he couldn’t knock over the goat. grade: 4

14/17

DONYELL MALEN: Replaced the weak Meunier (46th). However, there was not really any improvement on the left side of the attack. Didn’t get past the beginnings. Grade: 4.5.

15/17

MARCO REUS: Celebrated his return from injury when he came on for Özcan after halftime (46th). Brought significantly more plan and train to the previously pale attacking game. Had the best chance so far (78th). Grade: 3.5.

16/17

THORGAN HAZARD: Substituted for Süle to finally put the pressure on (70th). With some good approaches and paths, but nothing more. Grade: 3.5.

17/17

GIOVANNI REYNA: Came in for Can (82nd) just before the end to crack the tired Berliners. This plan didn’t work either. Without rating.

Union showed the well-known strengths at the Försterei in the first half: The Irons presented themselves as extremely strong and uncompromising in a duel, against the mistakes in the BVB passing game the quick transition moments and the search for the end followed immediately. That didn’t change even after the “gift” 1:0, the 2:0 resulted from a finely played counterattack after winning the ball.

During the break, Terzic reacted to the weak performance of the first 45 minutes, brought in three new players and switched to 4-2-3-1: Bellingham moved further back, Süle gave the right-back. In the well-known basic order, BVB came to more fluid combinations and significantly easier in the attack third, but the degrees were missing. Union attacked a little later, but was still extremely secure on the defensive and remained dangerous with counterattacks.

Only in the last 20 minutes did disorder in the Union defensive network appear from time to time, and Urs Fischer had also changed several times before. Dortmund pressed for the connection, but the first significant chance did not come until the 75th minute. After the game on Thursday, the FCU increasingly lost strength, but keeper Frederik Rönnow was on the post several times against jokers Marco Reus and Youssoufa Moukoko.

Union Berlin – Borussia Dortmund: The line-ups

Union Berlin: Rönnow – Baumgartl, Knoche, Leite – Trimmel, Khedira, Ryerson – Schäfer (87th Pantovic), Haberer (62nd Thorsby) – Becker (87th Leweling), Jordan (67th Behrens)

Borussia Dortmund: Kobel – Süle (Hazard 70), Hummels, Schlotterbeck – Meunier (Malen 46), Can (Reyna 82), Guerreiro – Bellingham, Salih Özcan (Reus 46) – Moukoko, Adeyemi (Brandt 46)

Union Berlin – Borussia Dortmund: The voices

Edin Terzic (BVB coach): “It’s brutally annoying and disappointing. We wanted to create more chances to score and make it more risky going forward. We had a lot of possession, but mostly just around the center line. We lacked the sense of achievement. In the end it wasn’t enough.”

Urs Fischer (Coach Union Berlin): “It’s insane and absolutely impressive when you see what the lads have already delivered. But with this physical commitment you also have the chance to beat anyone. The first half was very good from us. We had the opponent in the Griff, didn’t allow anything and of course benefited from their mistake before the first goal. We were able to rely on a very strong Frederik Rönnow at the back today.”

Union Berlin – Borussia Dortmund: The data for the game

Gates: 1: 0 Haberer (8th), 2: Haberer (21st)

The star of the game: Jannik Haberer (Union Berlin)

Was the match winner for the Irons with his brace. Only had to push into the empty goal to make it 1-0, but before that he made the extra meters to put Kobel under pressure in the first place. The 2-0 fell under the category “a shot like a line”.

The flop of the game: Gregor Kobel (BVB)

In the first few minutes with his head elsewhere: first unsure against Schöfer (5th), then with the blackout before 0: 1 when he slipped (8th). No chance at 0.2 (21st). At least strong against Baumgartl (56th).

The referee: Tobias Stieler

Had the game under control even when things got a little rough in the middle of the first half. Had the yellow card against Schlotterbeck corrected by the VAR in the second half via the button in the ear. Correct, after Knoche’s use against Hummels in the final phase not to decide on penalties.