First a historic record, then a moment of shock: VfB Stuttgart star Serhou Guirassy caused a rollercoaster of emotions in the Bundesliga game at 1. FC Union Berlin on Saturday (October 21, 2023).
In the clear and well-deserved 3-0 for VfB – for the “Iron” it was the sixth league defeat in a row – Guirassy scored with a header in the 16th minute after a chip pass from Anthony Rouault the goal for a 1-0 lead. It was his 14th goal of the season in the eighth game – something that has never happened before in the Bundesliga.
But the 27-year-old’s joy didn’t last long: in a duel with a Union midfielder Lucas Tousart Guirassy felt his opponent’s knee, had to be treated for problems with his thigh and then substituted. Deniz Undav came on for him in the 30th minute.
Union finds no solutions
Guirassy’s absence initially had no impact on the game in the Alte Försterei – the entire first half was incredibly bad from the Union’s perspective. The Champions League-Participant did not find any offensive solutions against VfB, who were strong in the game and on the counterattack, only stood out because of their excessive hardness in the duels and did not have a single chance to score.
Union reacted at the breakCoach Urs Fischer pointed out his team’s collective lack of imagination and went along with it TousartKevin Volland and Janik Haberer are three players in the dressing room.
Union largely foregoes possession of the ball
This didn’t make things noticeably better from Berlin’s perspective. After an hour, the statistics revealed shocking things for the “Iron Men”: just 40 percent possession of the ball in their own stadium, only three shots and also a miserable passing rate: 77 percent compared to 88 for the Stuttgart team.
The guests only had to put up with a single accusation: they were through Rouault (48th) and especially Jamie Leweling (55th and 62nd) had to ensure clear conditions for a long time, but failed either due to a lack of precision or due to Union-Keeper Frederik Rönnow.
Behrens and Fofana make it 1:1
Almost out of nowhere, opportunities arose for Berlin comeback. New national player Kevin Behrens wanted to overtake Alexander Nübel in the 79th minute, but the VfB teamKeeper secured the ball.
Seconds later he would have had no chance against David Fofana, but he shot the ball over the crossbar from close range.
Stuttgart’s Silas with the decision
Almost in return, the lid was on: Union were classically countered in their own stadium, joker Silas Katompa Mvumpa went around Rönnow and easily made it 2-0. Afterwards there was two more pieces of good news for the guests, who had already won for the seventh time this season: Without an opponent far and wide, Undav headed in the 3-0 in the 88th minute – and Guirassy saw it all when he cheered on the sidelines It looked like his injury wasn’t that bad.
VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß said shortly after the game: “He has muscular problems. We don’t have an MRI here. We will do all the other tests that are available. Then we can say more.”
Union in Bremen, VfB hosts TSG
Union Berlin travels to Bremen on the next matchday (Saturday, October 28th, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.). The Swabians are challenged in the home game against Hoffenheim at the same time.