The focus was initially on the absentees. Leipzig had to manage without coach Marco Rose, who was serving a yellow-red card suspension from the Leverkusen game. Rose was still on the pitch with his players during the warm-up, and 30 minutes before kick-off he handed over responsibility to assistant Alexander Zickler. He had already been in charge for most of the game in the 3-2 win against the champions.
Keyhanfar for Svensson
The absence on the Berlin bench, however, was unplanned. Bo Svensson was suffering from an infection, and just over two hours before kick-off, Union announced that the coach would miss the reunion with Rose. The duo had once played together at FSV Mainz 05. Babak Keyhanfar took over as head coach for the game.
He had apparently told his team not to do anything for the game under any circumstances. Union surrendered to complete offensive passivity, spending most of the first half in their own half. Even a single attempt on Leipzig’s goal? None. Leipzig had certainly expected this, but they had difficulty with handball-like attacks.
Rothe tested Gulacsi
There were only a few half-baked opportunities, often marked by individual class. Lois Openda (13th minute) shot after a counterattack, but the ball flew past the goal. Shortly afterwards, the Belgian international (21st) beat two opponents on the right. His finish, however, posed no problem for Union keeper Frederik Rönnow. Shortly before the break, Benjamin Henrichs (43rd) tried a long-range shot, but it was cleared narrowly for a corner.
Union also became dangerous from set pieces. Tom Rothe (58th) forced RB goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi to make a brilliant save with a header after a corner. Immediately afterwards – again after a corner – Diogo Leite was stopped by Gulacsi. Zickler reacted, bringing more creativity into Leipzig’s game with Antonio Nusa and Arthur Vermeeren. A minute later, Xavi Simons (68th) hit the crossbar.
Openda and the penalties
A goal was in the air – and it should have been scored. Referee Sven Jablonski rightly awarded a penalty after a foul by Kevin Vogt on Openda. But the Belgian did what he did last Friday with the national team against Israel – he missed. Rönnow had no problems with the weakly pushed ball into the corner. In injury time, the Dane then saved a free kick from David Raum from 18 meters – and Union, like Leipzig, remained undefeated this season.
