Union Berlin defeated Gladbach 2-1 deep in injury time and continued to lead the league ahead of Bayern Munich.
The acclaimed goalscorer Kevin Behrens beamed after the last-minute win despite his big bump, the Union Berlin fans happily sang about the German championship: With a crazy final spurt, the high-flyers from Köpenick also defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 (0 :1) sent home, brought the Alte Försterei to a boil and, above all, claimed the lead in the table again.
“We just have a great mentality, everyone is hot,” said Behrens, who initiated the turnaround with the equalizer in the 79th minute – and felt the fist of Gladbach’s substitute keeper Tobias Sippel in the face. “He hit me properly. It doesn’t matter. It’s great that he went in,” said Behrens.
Because Danilho Doekhi also headed the winning goal deep in added time (90 + 7), Union continues to greet from the top, with 26 points the surprise team is one point ahead of champions Bayern Munich. Borussia, who was still winless away from home, even took the lead through Nico Elvedi (33rd).
The master chants from the fans wrested a smile from coach Urs Fischer. “I’ll never get used to it. But it’s great when the fans celebrate it. For us it’s a snapshot – a great snapshot,” said the Union coach. Gladbach’s Marvin Friedrich, on the other hand, believed his ex-club to be able to create a sensation: “Why not? I’m sure they will play up there to the end.”
Union – Gladbach: VAR whistles goal back – Sippel with a serious mistake
In front of 22,012 spectators, the injury-plagued Gladbach team struggled against the compact Union defense at the beginning. At the first dangerous ball from Lars Stindl, Marcus Thuram could only be stopped by a foul, the due free kick from Alassane Plea (23rd) scratched Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow just out of the corner.
And then it got wild. After consultation with VAR, referee Harm Osmers first called off a Unioner goal because Sheraldo Becker (29th) had deflected a long-range shot from Rani Khedira with his hand into the goal, before just three minutes later Elvedi headed in a corner from Stindl to give Gladbach the lead . Meanwhile, the foals could have led even higher. Free in front of the goal, Thuram (35′) first lifted the ball over Rönnow, but then headed the ball from a tight angle onto the goal net.
In the last quarter of an hour, Union turned up the heat: Behrens equalized with a header, Gladbach’s substitute keeper Sippel looked anything but happy. A little later, substitute Christopher Trimmel even headed the supposed 2:1 (86th), but the goal was withdrawn due to an offside position. Deep in stoppage time, Doekhi was also successful with a header – and started the party.
Union Berlin – Borussia Mönchengladbach: The voices
Urs Fischer (Coach Union Berlin): “It was really dominant in the second half. The team didn’t give up and believed in it. And we didn’t try to play long balls, we tried to play it. The team really deserved this win. It’s a great snapshot. It’s a madness, really.”
Daniel Farke (Borussia Monchengladbach coach): “Of course that was a disappointing ending. We played a very good first half, deservedly led, maybe could have scored the second goal. Then it was 1-1 out of nowhere – and of course the stadium is there. You have to always be wide awake here at Union.”
Union Berlin – Borussia Mönchengladbach: The data for the game
