VfL Wolfsburg – Union Berlin X:X:

Again no win, but back in fourth place: Union Berlin gambled away a lead in a 1-1 draw at VfL Wolfsburg.

Urs Fischer caught his breath at the final whistle, then the Union Berlin coach adjusted his black baseball cap and congratulated his players. His visibly tired professionals shuffled in front of the guest fans’ block and thanked them for their support – after the 1-1 (0-0) win at VfL Wolfsburg, Union is back in fourth place and on course for the Champions League.

“We were 1-0 ahead, so of course we want to get the thing over time. But overall we can be satisfied with the point,” said Unions Sven Michel at DAZN. The English weeks were “exhausting, we invested a lot – and we took a point with strong wolves.”

The visitors took the lead in the 72nd minute when Josip Juranovic converted a penalty after Josuha Guilavogui brought down Aissa Laidouni. Patrick Wimmer (84th), who had just come on as a substitute, equalized twelve minutes later with a deflected shot.

“We wanted to get three points to attack the top six. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out. We played well but should have taken the lead,” said Guilavogui.

Union Berlin offensive too harmless

Three days after the 3-3 win in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 against Union Saint-Gilloise from Belgium, the guests found it difficult to get into the game. Despite a small team rotation, the guests looked tired. Lower Saxony dominated the game, but there was hardly any danger of scoring.

The 23,544 spectators became loud for the first time after exactly fifteen minutes. A free kick by Mattias Svanberg from 22 meters away made the crossbar of the Union goal vibrate, goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow would have had no chance to defend himself. In the period that followed, however, the game was largely uneventful.

That only changed shortly before the end of the first half. Omar Marmoush missed the VfL lead in the 44th minute, and in added time the Egyptian hit the side netting from a tight angle. Coach Niko Kovac gave his striker an encouraging pat on the back as he walked into the dressing room.

The North African was a constant threat to the visitors even after the break. In the 59th minute, Marmoush tested Union keeper Rönnow from close range with an artistic header. In order to relieve the lively dribbler up front, Kovac brought on national player Lukas Nmecha four minutes later.

In fact, the pressure on the Berlin goal grew, Union appeared less and less in front of the opposing penalty area. Fischer didn’t like that at all, with economical but unmistakable gestures he pushed his protégés forward. And was allowed to cheer in the 72nd minute – the equalizer came anyway.

VfL Wolfsburg – Union Berlin: The lineups

Wolfsburg: Casteels – Fischer (82nd Paredes), Bornauw, van de Ven, Paulo Otavio (81st Kaminski) – Guilavogui, Nmecha – Svanberg (82nd Wimmer), Wind (63rd Nmecha), Gerhardt (81st Baku) – Marmoush. – Coach: Kovac

Union: Rönnow – Doekhi (63 Baumgartl), Knoche, Leite – Juranovic, Khedira (63 Seguin), Gießelmann (62 Roussillon) – Thorsby, Laidouni (77 Haberer) – Becker (85 Behrens), Michel. – Coach: Fisherman

Referee: Robert Schroeder (Hanover)

Gates: 0: 1 Juranovic (72′, penalty kick), 1: 1 Wimmer (84′)

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