Still on course towards the Champions League: Union Berlin is third after beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-0 – the dream goal of the premier class is within reach.
After the final whistle, the Union Berlin players happily hugged each other, then they started a dance of joy in front of their fans: After the 1-0 (0-0) win at Borussia Mönchengladbach, the dream of the Champions League is within reach – in the completely utopian fight for the European elite class just a few years ago, the team of trainer Urs Fischer is already four points ahead of fifth place.
The strong Sheraldo Becker (60th) scored his ninth goal of the season for Union in a long, poor encounter, which appeared ice-cold and ripped off. The Berliners secured third place and are going into the last five match days of the season with the very best premier class cards.
“It may be a bit boring, but our focus is always on the next game,” said Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow on “DAZN”: “Of course we hope for the best possible result. We did a great job on the defensive, that’s what we want keep going.” Rani Khedira stressed: “The league is too strong to dream about right now. We just have to perform week in week out.”
Before kick-off, Fischer said his team had to “go to the limit”. Physically, his team was present from the start, but both teams initially disappointed in terms of play. It took almost half an hour before the game finally got some speed. Union, in particular, benefited from this and now found the gaps in the Gladbach back four with sharp passes. The result was the first notable chance of the evening: A shot by the conspicuous Becker was dangerously deflected, but goalkeeper Jonas Omlin was there (28th).
Up until the break, it only became dangerous with a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. Gladbach striker Marcus Thuram went down a little voluntarily, but Ramy Bensebaini was still allowed to try his luck from 16 meters – and failed against the wall. It remained the “most dangerous” scene in the first round for Borussia, who had been pinned down in tenth place for weeks.
After the break, Union immediately played a lot more biting, especially Jerome Roussillon now made a lot of steam on the left. The only drawback: At the latest at the edge of the penalty area it was the end of the line, the Köpenicker made far too little of the now clear superiority. There was no sign of the hosts, however.
A strong action then led to the well-deserved Union lead: Roussillon was allowed to cross unhindered from the left, Nico Elvedi let Becker escape – and he hit the left corner with a direct shot from nine meters.