Bayern’s pursuer Leipzig loses at Union Berlin

Bundesliga

Bayern pursuer Leipzig stumbles at Union Berlin

After a sluggish first half, Union Berlin and RB Leipzig suddenly turn things up. The Berliners win the exchange of blows.

Bayern’s pursuer RB Leipzig has lost important points in the Bundesliga. Rasenballsport suffered a 3-1 defeat at Union Berlin on Friday evening. After a sluggish first half, the game suddenly picked up speed in the second half. Oliver Burke gave Union the lead in the 57th minute, but just three minutes later Tidiam Gomis equalized for Leipzig. But this joy only lasted for a short time. Three minutes later Ilyas Ansah took the lead again. Leipzig tried in vain to equalize and even conceded their third goal from Tim Skarke in the third minute of added time.

With the win, Union jumps to eighth place in the table with 18 points, at least for the time being. Leipzig remains second with 29 points, but can be overtaken by Borussia Dortmund (28 points) over the course of the weekend. FC Bayern also has the chance to extend its lead over RB to eleven points.

In a disjointed opening phase, both teams found it difficult to get into the game. Union made too many mistakes with the stick, and RB also acted too poorly in possession and initially posed no real threat to Union keeper Frederik Rönnow’s goal.

Leipzig’s greatest asset was the in-form Yan Diomande. On the left wing, the 19-year-old Ivorian kept the Berlin defense busy with his quick starts and dribbling, which also gave him the first opportunity of the game. Rönnow prevented the culmination of a solo worth seeing (16th). At the following corner, the Dane parried Christoph Baumgartner’s header (18th) in his 100th competitive game in the RB Leipzig jersey.

The Leipzig phase of urgency only lasted a short time. RB continued to struggle to find solutions against Berlin’s dense defense and to play in the final third. The Köpenickers often relied on long balls in their offensive actions, but these did not pose any problems for Leipzig. Both teams neutralized each other as the uneventful first half progressed. Immediately before the half-time whistle, Janik Haberer (45.+1) appeared free in front of the Leipzig goal, but seemed surprised himself after a cross and missed from close range.

In the second half, which was initially characterized by intense duels, Union became bolder – and rewarded. First Burke ended the Berlin attackers’ dry spell, and after the interim equalizer, strike partner Ansah stepped up and restored the old lead. Skarke put the lid on it in stoppage time.