After his unlucky comeback, Marco Reus slipped off the pitch with his head hanging low, the chorus of victory from the Union Berlin fans echoing bitterly in his ears. When his captain returned, Borussia Dortmund failed with a bang because of the mysterious Union Code.
Coach Edin Terzic's team had to admit defeat in the Bundesliga by the cheeky and ice-cold Berlin leaders 0: 2 (0: 2) and lost sight of the top positions in eighth place, seven points behind Union.
"It's brutally annoying and disappointing," Terzic said on the DAZN streaming service. "In the end it was just not enough." From the coach's point of view, however, the opponent also played a major role in BVB's defeat: "Everyone noticed how well Union Berlin performed. When you're 2-0 behind, it's brutally difficult to come back here."
Fischer praise
With Janik Haberer scoring the first brace (8th/21st minute), Union initially extended their lead in front of 22,012 spectators in the sold-out stadium at the Alte Försterei before the duel between the pursuers FC Bayern and SC Freiburg on Sunday evening. After Munich's 5-0, the lead over the record champions is four points. "Our motto was to get through phases and use phases. We did that really well in the first half," praised coach Urs Fischer, who described the lead in the table as "extraordinary" but also as a "snapshot".
By now it should be clear to everyone: Coach Urs Fischer's team, unbeaten in eleven league home games, can be expected to be at the top of the table for longer. Goalscorer Haberer didn't want to have anything to do with dreams of the title: "We know where we come from. It was a great win today, but how we play in Bochum next week is important."
The Dortmund fans might ask themselves shortly after kick-off whether that was really Gregor Kobel in their goalkeeper jersey. First the Swiss let a fairly harmless shot from Andras Schäfer (4th) bounce. Still without consequences. When he slipped slapstick a little later, Haberer only had to push the ball over the line. "It was a super unfortunate situation," said Kobel. "If you start 0-1 there, it will be a difficult game."
Union is safe
Such leadership is known to be the best thing that can happen to Union. The scenery was there and Dortmund had to sort itself out. That just seemed to work when the next quick attack came from Schäfer. Jordan Siebatcheu pushed to Haberer, who gave Kobel no chance with his low shot. The Irons now stood securely in their beloved basic formation. The data providers recorded more than two-thirds of ball possession for Dortmund shortly before half-time. Statistics can also be useless.
Terzic reacted with a triple change. Reus made a comeback four weeks after his ligament injury. With the captain's armband on his arm, the 33-year-old constantly challenged the ball. Julian Brandt and Donyell Malen also came on for more assertiveness on offense. Union had the first good chances again. Kobel defused a header from Timo Baumgartl (55'). Ex-Unioner Nico Schlotterbeck saved with a tackle from Schäfer (65th).
Dortmund seemed unimaginative and dismayed. Reus (77th) was stopped in a solo by Union goalkeeper Rönnow. Youssoufa Moukoko (79th/83rd) had the same experience twice. The Berlin fans sang "German champion is only the FCU".
