57.
6:47 p.m
Tooor for RB Leipzig, 3-0 by Benjamin Šeško
56.
6:46 p.m
Instead of the Berliners catching up, it smells more like a third goal for the Saxons. RB has so far confidently downplayed this and can repeatedly increase the pace, which causes Union problems.
53.
18:44
Schwolow parries strongly again! Šeško is unstoppable in the center and passes it out to Dani Olmo on the right. The Spaniard briefly takes the ball on the right side of the box and then takes off. The visitors’ keeper stretches and fishes the shot out of the far corner.
51.
18:41
RB strikes early again after the break and still doesn’t let off the accelerator. Union is now finding it extremely difficult to at least get a point here.
48.
6:38 p.m
Tooor for RB Leipzig, 2-0 by Benjamin Šeško
Šeško heads in an unmarked shot! Raum takes the following free kick from the left and delicately lifts the ball inwards. Šeško runs diagonally from the center to the first post and heads in freely without any pressure from the opponent – the Köpenickers’ coordination was completely missing here!
47.
6:38 p.m
Yellow card for Lucas Tousart (1. FC Union Berlin)
In the duel with Simons, Tousart cannot keep up with his pace and drags him to the ground. As a result, RB is awarded a free kick almost five meters from the left corner of the penalty area.
46.
6:36 p.m
The second round begins without any personnel changes!
46.
6:35 p.m
Kick-off of the 2nd half
45.+5
18:22
Half-time conclusion:
RB Leipzig is deservedly leading 1-0 against Union Berlin at half-time and is taking the first step towards its first three points in 2024. The hosts pushed the pace from the start, Union just ran after the ball. In the end, the luck of the game was on Leipzig’s side following a corner, Openda put a rebound from a tight angle into the goal (11th). Even after that, RB was the more active team and only allowed Köpenick to take part in the game after half an hour. However, there were no great chances for Union, but on the other hand Schwolow made a strong save against Šeško (45th + 2) and thus prevented the score being 0-2.
45.+5
6:20 p.m
End of 1st half
45.+4
6:19 p.m
The hosts made themselves comfortable in the Berlin half in stoppage time and Union can no longer make an offensive appearance here.
45.+2
6:18 p.m
Schwolow prevents the 0:2! Šeško gets a powerful header from space after the corner, the keeper conjures up a great save on the line and clears with his fingertips.
45.+1
6:17 p.m
Dani Olmo hits the ball from the right into the opponent’s penalty area, where Šeško had run in. Vogt gets his leg up quickly enough and clears it for a corner.
45.
6:16 p.m
Official added time (minutes): 4
45.
6:15 p.m
The final phase is underway and RB is now taking more control of the game and letting the Berliners run after the ball more.
43.
18:13
Simons moves into the penalty area on the left, stumbles but quickly recovers. As he falls, he shoots with his right, but the shot doesn’t have enough power and Schwolow grabs it decisively.
42.
18:12
Even though Union is now taking part in the game a little more than in the early stages, the guests simply don’t move forward until the end. Leipzig is very defensive in the final third and doubles the Berliners effectively again and again.
39.
6:10 p.m
Hollerbach fights hard for the ball against Orban on the baseline and passes it back to Vertessen. He decides against a shot from around 14 meters and also wants to cross, Simons intercepts the pass in the penalty area and thus ends the guests’ attack.
37.
6:07 p.m
..Raum takes the corner from the left and pulls it sharply into the six-yard box. The Iron Men are well manned there and block with their heads.
36.
6:06 p.m
After a long time there is another corner for Leipzig because Gosens blocks a pass from Henrichs.
34.
6:05 p.m
Union can play the ball back and forth to the halfway line, then Leipzig attack. With speed they put the ball through to Hollerbach, who finishes from a half-left position. Henrichs gets to him and blocks the shot away from the goal.
31.
18:02
Then Gosens comes into action on the other side, the German full-back lifts the ball from the left into the middle. Vertessen gets a header at the first post, but can only stroke the ball towards the goal and can no longer get any pressure behind the ball.
30.
6:01 p.m
Šeško takes the space that was running on the left and hits a high cross once again. The ball flies towards the second post and Henrichs was already waiting for a direct shot, but Gosens cleared it with his head at the last moment.
29.
5:58 p.m
That happened quicker than expected: the ball rolls again and a goal kick continues for Leipzig.
27.
5:57 p.m
The game is interrupted! In Leipzig, fans are also taking a stand against investors in the Bundesliga and throwing balls onto the field. The referee asks the two teams to go to the dugout and the stewards take care of picking up the items.
26.
5:56 p.m
The flow of the game is currently interrupted again and again by minor fouls or balls going out of bounds, but Union continues to struggle with the ball at their feet.
23.
17:54
Half of the half has been played and we take a quick look at the numbers: 75% ball possession for RB Leipzig and 203 passes played compared to 64 passes from Union speak for themselves.
22.
17:52
Yellow card for Benedict Hollerbach (1. FC Union Berlin)
Instead of a dangerous standard action, Union runs on the counterattack and Hollerbach has to draw the tactical foul against the nimble Simons. He also sees the yellow card.
21.
17:52
Hollerbach crosses from the left side almost from the baseline into the center, Gulácsi plays it safe and wipes the leather over the crossbar.
20.
5:50 p.m
Yellow card for Kevin Kampl (RB Leipzig)
Kampl is involved in a close duel near the halfway line and is so upset about the lack of a whistle that the referee gives out the first yellow card of the evening.
18.
5:50 p.m
RB is almost preparing the guests! Šeško stumbles over the ball in the penalty area, Dani Olmo wins it right back and puts it through to Openda. The goalscorer of the 1-0 goal aims at the bottom left corner from seven meters, but Schwolow is down quickly enough and then the assistant’s flag goes up.
16.
5:46 p.m
The home team continues to apply pressure and go for the second goal. Union Berlin is pushed into its own half and doesn’t even get a chance offensively.
14.
5:44 p.m
Leipzig rewarded itself for its own mature performance in the initial phase. Union conceded early and now has to take more risks offensively.
11.
5:41 p.m
Great for RB Leipzig, 1-0 by Loïs Openda
Openda uses the clutter according to a standard! Simons takes a free kick from the right high into the middle. There is a lot going on at the second post and the ball bounces back to Henrichs, who shoots from the penalty spot. The ball is blocked and falls at Openda’s feet at the first post – the striker doesn’t hesitate for long and puts the ball into the left corner with his right hand!
9.
5:39 p.m
The guests are forced to do a lot of running early in the game, as Leipzig lets the ball move quickly from left to right.
7.
5:37 p.m
Raum and Simons are ready, and in the end the German international does it with his left foot. But his shot gets stuck in the Berlin Wall and the danger from the Köpenickers’ perspective is averted.
6.
5:36 p.m
Interesting free kick position for Leipzig: Dani Olmo takes the standard at the right corner of the penalty area against Schäfer, who runs into his feet.
5.
5:36 p.m
Union is now also trying a longer possession phase, Leipzig is actively attacking behind the halfway line and thus forcing bad passes in the build-up.
3.
5:34 p.m
Dani Olmo finds the gap on the left and pushes through into space, who plays half-high inside from a full run. Schwolow is awake at the first post and clears the ball forward.
3.
5:33 p.m
RB lets the ball run in their own ranks at the beginning, Union plays a compact 5-3-2 with two strikers at the front against the ball. All Berliners are in their own half early in the game.
1.
5:31 p.m
Let’s go, the ball is rolling in Leipzig!
1.
5:30 p.m
Game start
5:16 p.m
In the first leg on matchday 3, the red card against Volland (64th minute) was decisive at a certain point, because until then the Köpenickers had kept the game open despite being 0-1 behind. RB made good use of their advantage at the back and added two more goals through a brace from Šeško to make the final score 3-0. The young Slovenian started today and will still have fond memories of his joker goals from the first leg.
4:55 p.m
RB Leipzig wants to end the negative trend in front of their home crowd and stay close to Borussia Dortmund with a win: The Black and Yellows are four points ahead in fourth place. The statistics speak against a home win over Union Berlin: The Eisernen won their last two guest games in Leipzig 2-1 and left the field as winners in five of nine meetings against RB. Marco Rose’s team has such a bad record against any other team in the Bundesliga.
4:50 p.m
Under new coach Nenad Bjelica, the Berliners have recently performed better and better, losing only one of the last four Bundesliga games (0-1 in Munich) and thereby improving their own starting position in the relegation battle (15th place). Union’s coach will not be on the sidelines again today because he is still serving his penalty from the game against Bayern.
4:45 p.m
There is a similar amount of rotation among the guests from the capital, who celebrated an important 1-0 win against Darmstadt last weekend. Striker Behrens left the Iron Men for Wolfsburg during the week, his place next to Hollerbach is taken by new signing Vertessen, Volland comes into the game at most as a joker. Haberer is playing in central midfield today instead of Kral and Doekhi is returning to the defensive line of three; his representative Diogo Leite is not in the squad today due to illness. There is also a change in goal because Rönnow is out sick. Schwolow stands for him between the posts.
16:41
The Leipzig team was the only team in the league not to win this year: they suffered defeats against Frankfurt, Leverkusen and most recently Stuttgart, while RB conceded a whopping eight goals. Compared to the 2:5 at VfB, Marco Rose is rebuilding his team as follows: In goal, Gulácsi is given preference over Blaswich, in the back four, Orban is celebrating his comeback after recovering from injury, replacing Simakan (suspended). Henrichs, Kampl and Simons also slide into the starting eleven for Lukeba, Seiwald and Baumgartner, who all sit on the bench.
Hello and welcome to the duel between RB Leipzig and Union Berlin! The game marks the end of the 20th matchday and kicks off at 5:30 p.m.