Union Berlin and SC Freiburg separated in the duel between their table neighbors with a goalless draw, which in the end was fair. In a hard-fought game on Saturday afternoon, the referee team was the focus twice.
Both teams scored one goal each during the game, but the goal was disallowed in each case. Union Berlin’s supposed opening goal in the second half in particular heated up tempers – among other things because the referee team around Sören Störks needed more than five minutes to come to a decision.
In the table, neither Union (11 points) nor Freiburg (10 points) are really helped by the point in midfield, but both teams at least avoided defeats after their successful DFB Cup appearances. For Freiburg, the draw was the fourth draw in the last five league games.
“We played well in the first half and could have scored goals, but we didn’t“, Freiburg coach Julian Schuster was annoyed about the lack of efficiency of his team. “But we stayed stable and didn’t concede a goal. Then you have to be satisfied with the draw.”
Freiburg’s Adamu is over-motivated, Ginter’s goal doesn’t count
Freiburg’s junior Adamu caused the first excitement of the game, but twice it was about duels and not about playful highlights: After a few seconds, the striker was shown a yellow card for a rough tackle, shortly afterwards Adamu himself went down in the Berlin penalty area after Diogo Leite hit him – referee Sören Storks rightly did not award a penalty.
Union then recorded the first dangerous shot on goal when Andras Schäfer shot powerfully from a distance and forced Noah Atubolu to make his first save (10th). On the other side, Matthias Ginter headed in from a corner kick (16th), but his goal was disallowed after VAR intervention because Freiburg’s central defender had headed his own hand.
Matthias Ginter (l.) scores, but his goal is disallowed
Höler, Beste and Adamu miss their chances
However, Freiburg remained the slightly more dangerous team in the moderately entertaining first half and repeatedly appeared in front of Union keeper Frederik Rönnow’s goal. Adamu sent strike partner Lucas Höler, but he didn’t handle the ball properly and thus robbed himself of his good finishing position (22′). Jan-Niklas Beste was also cleared, but narrowly missed the goal with his right-footed shot past the far corner (38′).
Adamu then came into focus again: First, the Union team demanded a yellow-red card for the 24-year-old, who acted a bit over-motivated several times and committed fouls. After a header chance by Adamus (39th), Freiburg coach Julian Schuster finally reacted and brought on Igor Matanovic for his striker who was in danger of being sent off before the half-time whistle.
Union’s goal doesn’t count either – Khedira is surprised
The Unioners came out of the locker room slightly improved, but the offensive forces were initially barely able to put themselves in the spotlight. Without top scorer Ilyas Ansah (four goals, initially on the bench), the Köpenickers were dangerous at set pieces, if at all, but had little success in terms of play. But because the Baumgart team managed to move the game more and more into the opponent’s half, there was nothing to be seen from Freiburg apart from a header chance for Höler (54th).
Union then also scored its goal, but here too the goal was denied recognition. Andrej Ilic maneuvered the ball over the line, but because Rani Khedira had blocked Höler offside in the six-yard area, the VAR intervened after a minute-long review. According to the pictures, Storks apparently viewed Khedira’s action against Höler as an “active” act, so that the team’s decision was justifiable.
“Our goal probably should have counted” Khedira himself contradicted after the game – but didn’t mention the fact that he pressured Höler while defending the goal: “I don’t hinder the goalkeeper in any way, I’m in a tussle with a player myself, the goalkeeper has a clear view of the shooter. It’s hard to explain.”
Heated final phase between Union and Freiburg
Unsurprisingly, the decision caused discussions on the field and on the sidelines, and the game now became more heated – and a little more open. Ansah, who has since been substituted, missed Union’s best chance to date (72′), shortly afterwards Matanovic (73′) and Höler (74′) had opportunities for Freiburg. The momentum that the game had gained then ebbed somewhat as both coaches made several changes.
Rönnow’s save against Matanovic’s good header (85th) heralded the exciting final phase in which both teams flirted with the lucky punch. The hosts in particular hit a number of balls into the middle in the seven minutes of added time due to the VAR interruptions, but Freiburg’s defense held up.
Union against Bavaria, Freiburg in Nice
Union welcomes FC Bayern Munich on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m.). Freiburg will be visiting OGC Nice in the Europa League on Thursday evening (6.45 p.m.), before the Bundesliga game against St. Pauli continues on Sunday (3.30 p.m.).