Draw in Braga for the debut
Nenad Bjelica knew exactly what was wrong. The new coach of 1. FC Union Berlin didn’t try to talk about tactics or anything else after his disappointing 1-1 debut at SC Braga. “With our lack of self-confidence, it doesn’t really matter which system you play,” he said, downplaying his switch to a back four. “There is a certain fear in the minds and legs of the players. We will talk positively to the team.”
The 52-year-old Croatian tried a positive approach late on Wednesday evening in northern Portugal. After the red card against Braga’s Sikou Niakaté (31st), the “Iron” played in the majority for over half. Nevertheless, the home side were the better team for long stretches and got a deserved equalizer through Álvaro Djaló (52nd). Robin Gosens (42nd) had previously given Union the lead.
In the last Champions League group game against Real Madrid, Union now only has a small chance of overwintering in the Europa League. “Of course we are now dependent on other results. If we had won, it would have been in our own hands,” said Bjelica. Goalscorer Gosens spoke of an “all-or-nothing game” against the Spaniards and announced: “We will give it our all, leave our lives on the pitch and hope that we can somehow get the threesome over the finish line.”
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Things won’t get any easier for Bjelica & Co. in the Bundesliga either: on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) they’ll be heading to FC Bayern, of all places. His team had “problems with the ball” and “we don’t dare to play passes with risk,” said the new coach and successor to Urs Fischer about his team’s lack of self-confidence. The Köpenickers have been waiting for a sense of success for 16 games. Will that change in Munich? Since promotion in 2019, Union has not yet won against the German record champions – there are three draws and five defeats.
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