By Sebastian Karkos and Paul Gorgas
Union remains No. 1 in the capital — 1+ with an asterisk! The “Iron” sweep Hertha BSC 3-1 off the pitch in the Berlin derby. What a humiliation for the great Hertha, once the proud number 1 in the capital!
A week after the embarrassing end of the cup at the second division Braunschweig, the traditional club went down so hard. After just one hour it is 0: 3 in the capital derby.
Black start for Hertha!
It’s clear: Already after the 1st matchday there is an alarm at Hertha. New coach Schwarz is still firmly in the saddle. But: The pressure to succeed is growing in order to make the restart successful. Last year, the Berliners only saved themselves in the relegation. With 71 goals conceded, the club had the second worst defense in the league. And even now the defense continues to wobble enormously. Lots of work for Black. But the next opponents are tough: Frankfurt, Gladbach, Dortmund.
Union is still unbeaten in the Bundesliga at the Alte Försterei against the big city rivals (now three wins, one draw). Last year there were a total of three derby victories. 2x Bundesliga, 1x cup.
Excitement before the game: Due to traffic jams on the way, the new Hertha President Kay Bernstein and sports director Fredi Bobic only arrive at the stadium shortly before kick-off.
Surprise: Hertha’s new coach Schwarz shaved ex-captain Boyata! After the weak performance in the cup in Braunschweig, the defender is not even in the squad, Uremovic defends for him. Boyata, who was last traded with Turkish champions Trabzonspor, is likely to change until September 1 after this double strike.
1.FC Union Berlin
Sky expert Didi Hamann on the Boyata shave: “That’s unusual. When the note with the names was hanging in the dressing room, every player must have woken up and swallowed: Where’s the boyata? That brings the coach acceptance in the team. But that’s what coaches actually do when they’re under pressure – as a last resort. From this you can see that there is also a certain problem…”
By the way: For the first time since 1965 (then promoted FC Bayern against 1860/0:1) there is a city duel in the Bundesliga on the first matchday.
27 minutes: Ryerson cracks — great save from Hertha’s No. 1 Christensen with his fingertips.
31 minutes: 1:0! Mega header from Siebatcheu after a Becker cross. From an acute angle, the Ami, who came from Young Boys Bern, put the ball in from five meters.
Jordan Siebatcheu’s header hits the Hertha box for the Union lead Photo: City Press GmbH
View of the grandstand after the goal: Hertha President Bernstein annoyed pulls on his e-cigarette. Many Union fans are sitting around him in the stands. He also imagined the start of the season differently.
38 minutes: A Ryerson shot whizzes just inches past the post — because Christensen can deflect the ball minimally with his foot.
Hertha keeper Oliver Christensen can just fend off Julian Ryerson’s flick to the corner Photo: City Press GmbH
50 minutes: 2:0! Becker outwitted Christensen from eight meters. The ball tumbles towards the goal line and is then carried over the line into his own goal at the end by Kempf.
54 minutes: 3:0! Insanity! Knoche hits his head after a corner kick. Referee Fritz decides only offside. Because maybe Khedira was still on the ball with his toes. But the video referee looks at everything again – and says: everything is normal!
Hertha’s Prince Boateng raises his arm, but Robin Knoche’s Kofball goal to make it 3-0 is given later by VAR Photo: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP
85 minutes: 3:1 only. Result cosmetics by Lukebakio. Beautiful flick from 14 meters. But that doesn’t hide the Hertha performance here either…
